


Second Chance

by namidaame49



Series: Narukita Adventures [1]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pansexual Character, follows the vanilla P5 storyline, no P5R content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 61,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26867098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namidaame49/pseuds/namidaame49
Summary: The Investigation Team is gone, memories of their existence completely wiped. They weren't strong enough to beat Izanami. Dropped alone into the backstreets of Tokyo, Yu has to pick up the pieces. A chance meeting with a certain blue-haired artist thrusts him back into the cognitive world alongside the Phantom Thieves and he must form new bonds to replace the ones he's lost.
Relationships: Narukami Yu/Kitagawa Yusuke
Series: Narukita Adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127675
Comments: 27
Kudos: 76





	1. Into the Abyss

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings for this chapter: major character deaths, referenced homophobia.

"This is it," Yu said, holding the gaze of each member of the Investigation Team in turn. "We go in, we work together, we make this right. We can't let Izanami do what she wants with Inaba any longer."

Nods, quiet agreements, and assertive grunts met his statements. Kanji and Chie both looked fiercely determined and ready to literally beat the goddess into submission. Rise gave him a small smile, confidence and anxiety battling in her eyes. Yukiko and Naoto inclined their heads, deadly serious looks on their faces. Teddie bounced up and down, whether from nerves or excitement it was impossible to tell. Yosuke held his gaze and a long, unspoken message passed between them.

"Let’s go."

They marched through the last gate. Defiantly told Izanami-no-Okami where she could shove all her reasonings and her fog. And started fighting.

Despite how well they were working together, something was gnawing at Yu. Electricity crackled through the air and he grunted, stumbling backwards. Kanji was already up, swinging a heavy board at Izanami. Yukiko's hand was outstretched, guiding Amaterasu to where Yosuke had been slammed into a wall and was struggling to stand. Hoping to take advantage of Kanji's distraction, Yu directed Mada to cast Agidyne, cursing when the goddess sidestepped the column of flame easily.

_ What if we lose…? _

Chie dove into the fray with a well-placed Bufudyne as Yosuke struggled to his feet, resummoning Susano-o with something less than his usual energy but no less determination.

"Senpai, duck!"

Rise's voice, amplified in his head by Kanzeon's power, came just in time; Yu threw himself to the ground just in time to avoid a swipe. Seemingly infuriated by her miss, Izanami started glowing.

"Everyone, guard! She's charging up!"

The bomb of light that came next still felt like it was ripping through Yu's very soul through his defensive posture, and he drew a ragged breath before Amaterasu's soft healing magic coursed through him.

"Wait -- nothing’s working!" Chie shouted, as Izanami shrugged off the sheet of ice encasing her with not a care in the world. A handful of other elemental attacks arced towards the goddess from various directions, and they all seemed to evaporate before touching her.

"She’s...invulnerable?" For the first time, Rise sounded panicked, before gathering herself. "Teddie! Heal Yosuke. Everyone, guard yourselves. Let's see what she does for a moment."

The light pierced Yu's closed eyes as he braced himself, but in it he could see a spot of darkness --

"Yukiko! Mediarama! Everyone! Guard!"

The healing didn't even touch the knot that had settled in his stomach. Light again and this time he focused on the darkness --

One by one, his friends were falling into it --

"She's changing form! Everything you've got! Kanji, physical attacks only, she's immune to electricity!"

Yu shook his head violently and joined the assault, paying for his inattentiveness with a bolt of electricity to his chest.

"Senpai, watch it! Yosuke, heal!"

Yosuke, who had been gathering magic for Garudyne, pivoted gracefully, directing Susano-o's Diarama at Yu. The comforting aura from his best friend's Persona soothed him a little, and he pushed that spot of darkness out of his mind as a wave of literal darkness washed over all of them.

"Senpai! Can you heal yourself?"

Yu groaned, searching for Hariti and reaching out for her card. Diarahan got him back to his feet, but he was noticing exhaustion starting to pull at him. Nearby, Kanji was forcing a revival bead down Yukiko's throat. Yosuke and Teddie were trying to pick up the slack in healing, but Yu could see the exhaustion starting to show on their faces too.

_ "You are persistent." _

Izanami's voice echoed around them.

_ "But you lack the strength to go on, don't you?" _

She was looking directly at Yu, who found himself frozen. Hariti faded out of existence.

_ "Yours is a borrowed strength." _

A ball of darkness coalesced in her hands.

_ "I wonder how you would fare on your own." _

He knew an attack was coming, stepped forward to take the blow --

"No!"

Kanji, the closest, roughly shoved him aside, and the darkness reached out for him, pulling him in --

Each one, in turn, pushed him aside and took the curse in his place, until he was lying on the floor, alone. No Personas. No friends. The image of Yosuke's eyes burning brightly until the last moment was seared into his vision as tears flowed hotly down his cheeks.

_ "You came here to challenge a goddess without the strength of will and knowledge of self to see it through. So close, and yet so far." _

"I -- can't let you -- "

_ "Can’t let me win? You have lost. Your fear has locked your true power." _

She was silent for a moment.

_ "You intrigue me, Wild Card." _

The shrine around them started dissolving. Someone was screaming.

_ "You have tasted the exquisite pain of searching for the truth. Now, you will understand the true cost. Your bonds are hereby severed. Your existence, past and future, is unknown to all those you have met. You have nothing." _

Searing light blinded Yu, and he realized the screams were his own.

_ "Good luck." _

* * *

When he came to, it was to the sound of a cat meowing and the stench of week-old garbage. He opened his eyes, groaning as he struggled through bone-deep weariness to sit up.

He was in an alleyway. Apparently Izanami had dropped him in the middle of the neighborhood's trash cans, as if to signify his worth to her. Two cats were gazing at him from atop a nearby wall, one a nondescript orange tabby, the other black, with white markings and eyes so blue that they seemed to radiate their own light even in the dimness of the twilit alley.

Yu stared at this second cat, opening his mouth as if to call out to it, a feeling of familiarity nudging him through the fog in his brain --

"Oh my. Are you okay?"

Both cats fled as an old woman rounded the corner into the alleyway, a bag of trash in each hand, stopping short at the sight of a teenage boy among the refuse. Yu tried to figure out what to even say, because nothing about the past several hours made any sense to him, let alone to anyone else.

She deposited the trash in a nearby can and reached her hands out to him. "Can you stand, child?"

With her assistance (she was stronger than she looked), Yu finally made it to his feet, swaying a little as he stood. "Thanks," he croaked, realizing his voice was nearly gone from shouting spells, screaming at Izanami, dehydration, or some combination.

"Let's get you checked out at the clinic."

Together, they shuffled down the street. Fortunately, the clinic was just around the corner, light still spilling out from its doorway. A disinterested-looking woman, probably in her late thirties, looked up from behind the front desk, her expression subtly registering concern. "Kimura-san. What's going on?"

Yu let their conversation wash over him, wishing that he could go back to being unconscious. He found himself being guided into an exam room by the clinic woman, who he assumed was the doctor on call or some such. He tried to pay attention to the questions she was asking him.

"What’s your name?"

"Narukami...Yu..."

"Kimura-san said she found you in the alley -- how did you get there?"

"I don't...know..."

The doctor huffed out a small breath. "Does anything hurt?"

"No, I just...have a headache....”

It wasn't exactly a lie, but he could not put the full extent of his feelings into words. The doctor changed tactics, checking his vision and reflexes, before straightening up and addressing the old woman -- Kimura-san? -- who was sitting in a nearby chair.

"His headache and short-term amnesia indicate a possible concussion, but he doesn't have any other symptoms that would point to a definitive diagnosis. He needs to be monitored for the next few days, and come back here if his symptoms worsen. For right now, he needs hydration and rest. A light meal, if he can tolerate it." She hesitated. "Do you want a card for the local youth shelter?"

"He can stay with me and my husband for now," Kimura-san said firmly. "I'm not going to abandon him to a shelter in his condition."

The doctor nodded, scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing it to Kimura-san. "Here's my cell number. Call me if you need anything for him."

* * *

Yu collapsed into the futon in the Kimuras' spare room, feeling physically slightly better after dinner and a shower, but still absolutely spent. Slowly, he flipped open his phone and opened his contacts.

_ Amagi Yukiko. Dojima Ryotaro. Ebihara Ai. Hanamura Yosuke. _

His heart leapt into his throat. Maybe he could --

_ Error. Resyncing contacts. _

"No," he whispered, as one by one each contact disappeared behind the small error message.

The phone slipped from his fingers to the floor. It was stupid to hope that a literal goddess couldn’t figure out how to wipe his phone contacts in addition to the memories of his loved ones. Without bothering to pick up the offending device, he fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

_ "Why couldn't you save us, Yu?" _

_ "Why didn't you win? We sacrificed ourselves for you." _

_ "I trusted you, partner." _

Yu jolted awake, heart racing, breathing heavy, tears streaming down his face. Yosuke's face just before the darkness consumed him, haunting him, blaming him for what had happened. He rubbed his eyes, noticing that he was still wearing the glasses from the TV world. Well, it wasn't like it mattered. He left them on as he shrugged on the clothes that had been left for him with a note that he was welcome to them and anything in the closet, then descended to the main level.

The old woman from last night was cooking breakfast. A man Yu assumed was her husband was washing dishes next to her. "Ah, Yu-kun," the woman greeted him. "You're looking better this morning."

"Thanks," he said automatically, trying to remember how she knew his name and failing. "I'm sorry, I don't think I ever learned your names."

"Kimura Sachiko and Hiroshi." The woman indicated herself and her husband in turn.

Yu bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality, Kimura-san."

The old man chuckled. "No need for quite such formality, as long as you set the table." He indicated the small stack of plates and bowls ready to be put on the table.

"Of course."

Dishes were set, food was cooked, and they all sat down. Small talk about the weather and current events dominated the conversation, through which Yu gathered that he was in an area of Tokyo called Yongen-jaya, the couple owned a small movie theatre a few blocks away, and that the most noteworthy event to have happened in the past decade of this small ward was someone named Sakura-san assuming guardianship of a delinquent teenager from outside the city a month ago.

Sachiko fixed him with a kind, but firm gaze. "Yu-kun, I know you said you couldn't remember how you had ended up in that alleyway last night. Has anything come back to you?"

It went against Yu's nature to outright lie, but "I was dropped here by an angry goddess" wasn't something that anyone was going to believe. "My parents...kicked me out," he said, landing on the first possible reason why he would be out here with no friends or resources. "I didn't have anywhere to go. I still don't remember how I got here."

Both Sachiko and Hiroshi looked much sadder at his story than he expected. "I'm so sorry, Yu-kun," Sachiko said quietly. "My great-niece got disowned by her mother a few years ago...she was lesbian, you see...and she didn't trust any of our family. The police found her dead a month later."

Hiroshi covered her hand with his. "It doesn't matter what your family situation was," he said firmly. "We would like to offer you the support we couldn't give Nanako."

The name of their deceased great-niece stabbed Yu in the chest like a white-hot poker.  _ Nanako. _ Of course, his little cousin had no idea he existed anymore, but he was still very aware of her, and how precarious her recovery in the hospital had been, and he had no way to check on her. Struggling to pull himself together, he tried to smile, but wasn't sure he succeeded. "That’s -- are you sure?"

"Yes." Sachiko nodded firmly, after looking gratefully at her husband. "We had been looking for a renter for a small apartment we own down the street, and we had been looking for a new employee at the theatre. No rent, and we can pay you a small salary for food and necessities, whatever you need. Enough for you to get back on your feet, finish out high school. Will you accept?"

Yu was overwhelmed that these two strangers who had literally pulled him out of the trash would show such kindness without reservation. "I couldn't be more grateful," he said quietly, blinking back tears.

"Very well then -- let's get you set up with the necessities, and get you enrolled in school."

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Star Arcana... _

* * *

That evening, Yu walked into what was suddenly his own apartment. The kitchen was small, but serviceable, and the Kimuras had generously stocked the fridge and pantry. The living room doubled as his sleeping quarters, and there was a nice futon left behind from its previous occupant. A small table by the wall doubled as a workbench and a dining table. Yu's favorite part of the room was the window seat, covered in pillows and overlooking the alley one story below. It was here that he settled in with a cup of instant ramen, gazing down at the people and buildings.

The apartment was in between where the Kimuras' house was and the movie theatre, around the corner from the grocery store and across the street from a homely little cafe. As the sun set, he watched a black-haired boy with glasses turn down the street, probably coming from the station nearby, and head into the cafe -- was that the cat from last night in his bag? Maybe Yu's eyes were playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn he saw a flash of blue as the cat looked around.

He shrugged, dipping another bite of ramen out with his chopsticks. He would have to pay the cafe a visit at some point. Perhaps he could befriend the cat with some nice savory fish.

Still exhausted from his ordeal with Izanami and from being out with the Kimuras most of the day, once Yu made the futon and crawled in, he fell asleep almost instantly.


	2. Coffee, Cats, and Artists

_ "Big bro…" _

_ "Nanako!" _

_ He could hear her, but not see her... _

_ "...you said you would always be there...why did you go?" _

_ "Nanako, I -- " _

_ "I...needed you..." _

A harsh ray of sunlight blinded Yu as his eyes flew open, looking wildly around for the little girl who could not be found. Her pained cries echoed in his mind as he dragged himself out of bed. Her sad eyes watched as he shuffled to the kitchen, figuring he might as well eat since the fresh hell his mind had cooked up wouldn’t let him sleep.

The eggs he made tasted like sawdust in his mouth as he kept thinking about Nanako's cooking, and he could barely choke down a few bites before pushing the rest away. He needed to get out and clear his head. Quickly throwing on a gray polo and black pants, he headed outside.

Yongen-jaya wasn't that large; he had made the circuit of the whole area in about twenty minutes. He thought about using his school pass to travel to Shibuya, but the mere thought of dealing with crowds was exhausting at the moment. Instead, he wandered back towards his apartment, pausing when he caught sight of Cafe Leblanc across the street. It seemed to be open, but pretty empty. He patted his pockets to make sure he had his wallet, then opened the door.

Inside was much darker than the blazingly-sunny day. The scent of coffee wafted into his nostrils, and he had to blink a couple of times to push away the memory of Dojima making coffee for him and Nanako.

"Welcome," a gruff, yet not unfriendly voice greeted him from behind the counter. "Haven't seen you around. Are you a friend of Kurusu's?"

Yu shook his head. "I...just moved in across the street," he said lamely. "The Kimuras' old apartment."

"Ah, well, welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Sakura Sojiro. Been running this cafe a couple years now." Sakura peered closely at him. "You look like a high schooler. Living by yourself?"

Yu dropped his gaze, avoiding the other man's piercing look. "I'm on my own, yeah."

"Hm." A moment, then Sakura apparently decided to drop the subject. "Here for coffee?"

"Yes, please. Black is fine."

This seemed to please Sakura. "A man of mature tastes, I see. Coming right up."

As he bustled off to brew the coffee, Yu swiveled around on the stool to take stock of his surroundings. It was a charmingly retro cafe, with a couple of knick-knacks and plants for decoration, but otherwise the decor looked like it hadn’t been touched in fifty years. A couple of boys his age were in a corner booth with what looked like schoolwork spread out in front of them. The blond one seemed to be having much more difficulty than the black-haired one, punctuating his writing with frequent groans and flipping through books, until he theatrically slumped down in the bench. "Dude, I'm never gonna learn all this shit."

The other boy chuckled. "You started studying ten minutes ago, Ryuji. Give it time."

"Thanks, Mr. Super Genius," the boy called Ryuji grumped. "The hell am I even going to use English for, anyway? I can just ask Ann."

"Ann won't always be around."

The clink of a cup and saucer prompted Yu to stop examining the cafe in an attempt to not look like he was eavesdropping on the students' conversation and turn around. "Thank you."

He sipped it slowly, the increasing escalation of Ryuji's academics-fueled despair and the attempts of his friend -- whose name was apparently Akira -- to calm him down and try to figure out a way for the information to stick in his head providing a welcome distraction from his thoughts. He paid Sakura and headed out, preparing for his shift at the theatre.

* * *

Something drew him back to the cafe repeatedly, and he found himself enjoying the atmosphere even when it was empty except for Sakura. School at Kosei High was different from Yasogami; it was much more rigorous, but the challenge was stimulating. The elective psychology class he had signed up for was perhaps the most interesting of all, his experience with Shadows and his own multiple Personas causing the concepts to click quite readily. But tonight, it was time to study history.

He headed straight to Leblanc from the station, not bothering to change out of his uniform, and opened his textbook to start making notes for the test, trying not to let himself get too distracted. At the booth in the corner, two women in their late twenties or so were having an animated conversation over coffee, and Yu found himself unintentionally focusing on that more than his studying.

" -- just keep finding new ways to torture this poor character. I think I'm up to six serious injuries? He's gotten shoved in a barrel, fell down some stairs, got his fingers slammed in a drawer, been stabbed -- "

"Oh my God, Isamu, you've got to give him a break sometime. You're gonna run out of ways to write horrific injuries."

"Tell him to stop doing stupid things, then." A cup clinked into a saucer as the two women laughed. "I need more coffee. What about you, Kiyoko?"

Yu sighed, trying to shut out the conversation that had now moved closer to him by staring at the outside door in the hopes that it would help him remember what year the -- what event even was he trying to remember at this point? Despairingly, he kept staring at the door as it opened.

A high schooler wearing a dark purple shirt, carrying a bag with the Kosei emblem on it and holding a sketchbook in his hand, entered. Dark hair that almost had a bluish hue swept across his forehead, and he looked first at the new painting that had recently appeared on Leblanc's wall before facing into the cafe and locking eyes with Yu.

All thoughts of history forgotten, Yu felt a pleasant coolness envelop him as he looked into the gray eyes before him, reminiscent of the soft breeze that he had felt when he and Yosuke were spending time together, and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

The other student seemed similarly entranced, not having moved from in front of the door. Eventually, Sakura cleared his throat. "Mind clearing the door so other customers can get in, Kitagawa?"

The spell broken, Yu jerked his eyes back to his textbook, feeling the uncomfortable warmth of the cafe again. The other student sat down next to him, as if he heard the unspoken invitation to talk. "I've never seen eyes like yours," he murmured, almost as if to himself. "Such depth. A foggy morning, a summer storm, a smoky campfire. It is all there in those silvered depths."

Yu ducked his head, wishing for longer hair for perhaps the first time in his life to hide the blush that had flamed into existence across his face. "Your eyes are the same color."

"But I cannot observe my own eyes naturally. Looking into a mirror is artificial, and I can only see that which I desire myself to see."

Had Yu been looking up, he would have seen the partly apologetic, partly amused look Sakura sent him as he set cups of coffee in front of them, backing away quickly before he could get roped into the conversation. Yu picked up his coffee and brought it to his lips to test the temperature.

"I must ask -- would you be my model?"

Yu nearly sloshed coffee over his notes as he hurriedly set the cup down and turned to face the other boy. "Your -- model?"

"I am an artist. I wish to paint you."

"I -- uh -- sure." If his eyes were the smoke from a campfire, his cheeks were surely the coals, from how much they were burning. "Mind if I ask the name of the artist immortalizing me on canvas?"

"Oh!" The boy's hand flew to his mouth. "My apologies. I am Kitagawa Yusuke, a second year art student at Kosei. And you are...?"

"Narukami Yu. Third year. I transferred here a couple months ago."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Narukami-senpai." Kitagawa finally turned to start sipping his coffee, which Yu noticed was also black. "Shall we exchange contact information?"

"Oh." Yu's phone was shoved into a corner of his closet. It was a physical reminder of his time in Inaba that he didn't want, even with its now-blank contact list. He hadn't been able to stomach the thought of trying to get it connected, and hadn't felt the need to acquire a new one since there was no one who would call him now. "I don't have a cell phone."

Kitagawa looked vaguely surprised, but shrugged. "No matter; we can meet up at school, or here, perhaps."

Yu nodded as the door to the cafe opened again. It was the boy that Yu had learned was the "delinquent teenager" Sakura was looking after. The cat -- which was  _ definitely _ the one he had seen his first night here -- poked its head out of his bag. "Hey, I didn't know Yusuke knew that Narukami guy."

Wait -- did that cat just  _ talk _ ? Yu stared at it. He had often wished the cats in Inaba could talk back to him. Maybe he had actually fallen asleep trying to study and this was a dream. The solution was clearly more coffee.

He saw Kurusu shrug out of the corner of his eye, shaking the hair out of his eyes, before coming to stand on Kitagawa's other side. "Studying?"

Kitagawa chuckled. "Hardly. My dormmates are throwing a party now and I thought it would be more peaceful to sketch here."

"Mm. I'm going to head upstairs to ma -- um, study. Need to brush up on my math." Kurusu covered for what was clearly a change in sentence direction so smoothly that it almost didn't register with Yu. Almost.

"Mind if I join you? I want to sketch the view out of your window." Kitagawa drained the rest of his coffee and stood up.

"Sure thing." Kurusu scooted past their stools. "Narukami-san."

"Kurusu-kun."

Kitagawa paused as Kurusu continued up the back stairs of the cafe. "Tomorrow's Sunday," he said thoughtfully. "Could we meet here at 9?"

"Sure. I have to work in the evening, but I'm free all day."

"Then it's settled. I will see you tomorrow, Narukami-senpai."

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Emperor Arcana... _

* * *

_ "Wake up, Inmate!" _

_ The sound of metal hitting metal woke him from his fitful sleep.  _ Where am I...?

_ "Our master wishes to speak with you. Please heed his words." _

_ The two girls on either side of his prison cell --  _ prison cell? _ \-- looked vaguely familiar, as if someone had taken a bad description of Margaret and turned her into two elementary school children. And there was no mistaking the man behind the desk. _

_ "Igor...?" _

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room. A place between dreams and reality, mind and matter. But you know that already, don't you?" _

_ The voice was low, distorted, not at all what he remembered. "I...the Velvet Room was a car." _

_ "Indeed. This place changes to reflect the state of mind of its guests. Now, you have been forced into a game you wanted no part in, a prisoner to your circumstances, much like my other guest." Igor gestured to the only other cell in the room with a locked door. Yu could just make out the silhouette of another inmate asleep on the cot inside. "I must say, it is quite unusual to have two Tricksters as guests at the same time. Perhaps, together, you can save this world from ruin." _

_ "Ruin?" _

_ "You are being given a second chance. One, perhaps, you did not want. It is up to you to determine what you do with it." _

_ The softer-voiced girl spoke up at this point. "Should you choose to walk forward on the path of rehabilitation and not close your eyes to the ruin that awaits humanity, you must forge new bonds to replace the ones you’ve lost." _

_ "Replace...?" Yu felt a hard knot in his throat. "Nothing can replace what I've lost." _

_ "Regardless, your connections to the arcana have been severed. You've already started making new contracts with people, though, haven't you? I sense them within you." _

_ The Kimuras. Kitagawa. The feeling when he agreed to their offers or requests. He supposed Lolita Margaret was correct. _

_ "My name is Justine." The face to accompany the softer voice looked rather petulant. _

_ "I -- what? Oh. You can read my thoughts, huh?" _

_ The other twin cackled. "Not even your mind is safe in here, Inmate. I'm Caroline. You better not forget!" _

_ Igor watched this exchange with a look of amusement. "In time, should you choose the path of rehabilitation, you will return here of your own free will. I look forward to it. May your adventure begin, Narukami Yu." _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline here doesn't strictly follow canon: the Investigation Team fights Izanami in March 20XX, and Yu wakes up in Yongen-jaya in April 20XX (about a month later, not several years later). Doesn't really impact the story in a meaningful way, but just wanted to clarify the timeline a bit.


	3. The Phantom Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: very brief mention of past abuse.

Yu groaned as the blazing sun blinded him the moment he opened his eyes. Once again, he had forgotten to close the curtains before going to sleep the previous night. The dream he had had stayed with him, and he walked over to the small TV he had acquired from the secondhand shop. The smooth glass of its screen met his fingers with resistance as he tried to push his hand inside. Whatever it was that Igor wanted him to do, it apparently wasn't in the TV world.

He turned back to the futon to make it for the day and stopped suddenly. On top of the pillow was a smartphone, plugged into the nearby outlet like it had always been there. Frowning, he picked it up and unlocked it.

There wasn't much installed on it. Only a handful of utility apps appeared on the blue background that reminded him of the friendlier Velvet Room from Inaba. Notes, messages, email...

He tapped the one icon he didn't recognize, labeled only "MetaNav".

A cool female voice issued from the phone speakers. "Welcome to the Metaverse Navigator. Please input your keywords or choose a destination from search history."

"The hell?"

The clock in the corner of the screen ticked over to 9:00.

"Crap. I'm late."

He threw on some clothes, shoving the phone into his pocket before heading out the door, thankful that Leblanc was just across the street.

Kitagawa was already there when he entered, delicately spooning curry into his mouth. "Good morning, Narukami-senpai."

"Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time."

"It's not a problem." Kitagawa smiled serenely. "I haven't finished savoring this delicious curry yet."

Sakura looked up from the kitchen sink, a satisfied smirk on his face. "What'll it be, Narukami? Want to join your friend with some of the best curry Tokyo has to offer?"

Yu smiled at Sakura's unabashed pride for his own food. "With an invitation like that, how could I not?"

"Good choice."

Kitagawa withdrew a map from his pocket and shook it open. "How would you feel about going to Tamagawadai Park? The hydrangeas are just starting to bloom."

"Sounds good."

They spent the rest of their meal in companionable silence. Just as they were finishing up, Kurusu came downstairs. "About time you woke up," Sakura said. "You shouldn't sleep the day away just because it's a Sunday."

"Sorry. I trained with Ryuji yesterday and I guess I overdid it." Kurusu stretched the arm that wasn't carrying his cat bag, wincing a little as he did so. The cat poked its head out grumpily as the bag jostled.

"Aren't you afraid your cat will escape from that bag?" Yu asked, unable to contain the curiosity that had plagued him for weeks any longer.

Kurusu laughed. "Who, Morgana? I couldn't make him leave even if I wanted to. Don't worry." He glanced at Kitagawa. "Got plans today?"

"Yes." Kitagawa did not elaborate, and Kurusu shrugged.

"All right. I'm going to catch up with Ann in Shibuya, then. Let me know if you're free later." Kurusu waved cheerily as he headed out.

Yu set down his chopsticks, murmuring his thanks for the food before turning to Kitagawa, who had finished eating already. "Shall we?"

They chatted idly on the train, and Yu learned that Kitagawa had only recently started coming to Leblanc after meeting Kurusu and his friends earlier that month. He was a little vague on the details of how they'd met, but Yu gathered something about an art exhibition and a mythical "Takamaki-san" who was apparently the most beautiful woman Kitagawa had ever laid eyes on. He couldn't help but notice that Kitagawa had a similarly breathless, radiant expression on his face describing Takamaki as he had when he had seen Yu for the first time, and he chuckled to himself. Kitagawa truly was an artist, through and through.

Kitagawa led the way through the park until they found a secluded bench, where the morning sunlight fell on a wooden bench in front of some barely-opening hydrangeas. "Please, sit," he said, indicating the bench as he pulled out his sketchbook.

"Do you...want me to do anything specific?"

Kitagawa considered for a moment, tapping the end of his pencil against his lips. "Just relax. I want to get a natural baseline for you today." He settled on a nearby bench across from Yu, beginning his sketch.

Yu tried to stay as still as he could, letting the sound of Kitagawa's pencil, the nearby river, and the birds chirping in the trees behind him fill his senses. A light breeze played across his face, ruffling his hair slightly. It was meditative. He thought the sounds of pencil on paper moved closer, but he had closed his eyes to deepen the meditation, and the thought gently floated away, a petal on the breeze.

It could have been hours or seconds when he distantly heard his name. "Narukami-senpai? May I ask you to open your eyes?"

The soft voice gently guided him down to earth, and he opened his eyes to find Kitagawa sitting on the edge of the bench next to him, sketchbook balanced on one arm, as he quickly drew the finishing touches on the sketch, giving it one final once-over before turning it so Yu could see.

It was the moment as he was awakening from his reverie, with a blissful half-smile and soft eyes, partially obscured by the glasses that he still wore out of habit. Yu swallowed as he looked down at his lap, realizing this was perhaps the first time since Yomotsu Hirasaka that he hadn't felt the dark cloud of guilt and pain he had been carrying -- which made it all the more noticeable when it settled back over him. "It's...that's amazing, Kitagawa-kun."

Kitagawa squirmed uncomfortably. "Please, call me Yusuke," he implored. "I don't want our sessions to be a stiff and formal affair."

Yu managed a small smile, again pushing the darkness to its corner of permanent residence in his mind. "Only if you use my first name as well."

Yusuke closed his eyes and inclined his head, smiling. "As you wish, Yu." He opened his eyes, flipping back through his sketchbook. "This was a great help, thank you." He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Ah, it's lunchtime....I would invite you to lunch somewhere, but sadly, I have very little budget for food at the moment."

"Come over to my place," Yu said, surprising even himself with the sudden invitation. "I've got ingredients in the fridge. I can cook something for us. I insist," he added, seeing Yusuke open his mouth to protest.

"That's very generous of you. Very well, I accept."

Another short train ride later found them at Yu's apartment. He unlocked the door, carefully placing his shoes in the cubby and his keys on their hook before heading into the kitchen. As he expected, Yusuke was immediately drawn to the window seat, flipping to a blank page in his sketchbook as he settled in amongst the pillows. Yu busied himself preparing the ingredients for beef bowls, and soon the smell of cooking was enough to distract even the devoted artist in the window, who shook his head and closed his sketchbook. Yu set two steaming hot bowls on the small table next to glasses of water, gesturing for Yusuke to sit down.

"So you live alone," Yusuke mused. "Is there a story behind that?"

Yu lowered the bite of food he had been about to eat slowly back into the bowl, ready to drone the cover story he had been trotting out ever since getting pulled out of the trash. "My p--"

A displeased spark, one that he hadn't felt in months, cut him off. Unconsciously, he put his hand up to his temple, realizing that somehow Izanagi had reawakened in him, and was grumpy that Yu was choosing to lie this time.  _ Was that why I was in the Velvet Room last night? _ He dropped his hand, realizing Yusuke was staring at him, before exhaling. "It's a long story."

"Your shift isn't until this evening, correct? I have some time, as well. If you want to tell me, that is," Yusuke added hastily.

Their eyes met, and again, there was that pleasant coolness, and was he imagining it or did he feel Izanagi reaching out to another Persona? Yusuke's eyes flickered at that exact moment with a sharp intake of breath, almost as if he had been shocked, and that was the only assurance Yu needed.

"I'm a Persona-user. My friends and I were fighting a goddess for the future of a small town. We...lost. She punished me by killing my friends, erasing the knowledge of my existence from everyone who knew me, and dropping me in the literal trash outside the Kimuras' house. They gave me a job and are letting me stay here while I finish high school."

He held his breath, waiting for the puzzled or concerned look that would tell him Yusuke thought he was crazy, but instead Yusuke had closed his eyes and bowed his head. "My mentor was stealing the work of his pupils and selling it as his own, abusing any of us who objected. I awakened to my Persona once I finally saw the truth. He finally confessed to his crimes very recently and was arrested. That's why I'm staying in the dorms."

"That's -- that's awful. I'm sorry."

"My condolences for your losses, as well." Yusuke opened his eyes, his expression equally sympathy and sadness.

"This is going to sound crazy -- well, not as crazy as what I already told you, I guess -- can Kurusu-kun's cat talk?"

"Morgana isn't an ordinary cat. You're a Persona-user, so you can understand him. To everyone else, their cognition is that if something looks like a cat, it sounds like a cat, so all they hear is meowing." Yusuke looked thoughtful. "Morgana mentioned that he thought you might have understood something he said when Akira walked into the cafe yesterday. Perhaps you should talk to Akira. I’ve found him to be quite reliable and willing to help out. And we could always use another team member."

"Team member?"

Yusuke demurred. "I'll leave that explanation to Akira and Morgana, should you choose to talk to them." He placed his chopsticks down carefully. "Thank you for lunch. It was both delicious and satisfying."

"Are you leaving?"

"Regrettably, art is not the only subject I'm studying, and I have homework due tomorrow."

"Wait." Yu suddenly remembered the phone in his pocket, pulling it out. "I got a phone, so we can exchange numbers now."

"Since yesterday evening? When?"

Yu explained about the dream he'd had, the sudden appearance of the phone, and the Metaverse Navigator. Yusuke confirmed the strange app was on his phone as well. "I guess this Igor wants you to be able to keep in touch with others," he said, as they finished sharing their contact information. "I'll see you again soon."

He smiled over his shoulder as he left, closing the door behind him. Then, again, it was suddenly uncomfortably warm in the small apartment, without the aura from Yusuke's Persona. Yu grunted in frustration, locking the door and trying to lock his own darkness out with it. He had homework to do as well, and time was ticking until his shift.

A few minutes before six, he closed his books and hurried over to the theater. On Sundays, it was uncommon for more than a handful of people to come, especially right now when no popular films were showing. Sachiko was sweeping the lobby when he arrived, greeting him with a smile and making sure he was set up at the register. Once the early showing had started, she sat down on a nearby bench, sipping from a glass of water. "A slow night."

"How'd you come to operate a movie theater here?" Yu asked curiously. He'd never asked before, but now that he had settled in a bit, he wanted to learn more about the people who had taken a shine to him.

"Hiroshi was always a bit of a movie buff," Sachiko said fondly, "and as much as I poked fun at him for it when we were first dating, he ended up rubbing off on me. A friend of his started this theater about thirty years ago. Five years ago, we were retiring and he was looking to get out of the business, so we took it over. It's kind of a hobby for us. Some construction company has been trying to buy us out to turn this place into more apartments for most of that time, but we won't sell until we're tired of it." She nodded and folded her arms in fierce satisfaction.

"That's cool that you could get into something you're both passionate about."

"Indeed." Her eyes twinkled as she looked at him. "Maybe you'll find a nice person to settle down and pursue a joint passion with."

"I'm only seventeen," Yu protested, but she only laughed.

"Ah, I suppose you have your whole life ahead of you yet, Yu-kun. Just don't be afraid to go for what you truly want." She stood up, stretching. "Well, I'm off to settle the books for the night. Call me if the popcorn machine catches on fire again."

"Wait --  _ again? _ "

"Bye-bye!"

Her laughs echoed through the closed door, but even though Yu was pretty sure she was joking, he still spent the rest of his shift with one eye on the popcorn machine.

* * *

He spent a few days trying to figure out how to approach Kurusu about their apparent shared Persona-using, failing miserably at coming up with anything that sounded reasonable. Wednesday found him dashing across the street in a thunderstorm to Leblanc; he had procrastinated buying groceries, and with the tumultuous rain, he didn't feel like hauling bags to his apartment. Dinner would be Sakura's curry, and he could just deal with groceries tomorrow.

Sakura looked up as he came in, clutching his bookbag to his chest and hoping nothing inside had gotten too wet. "Evening, Narukami. Just coffee tonight, or curry?"

"Both, please...I was going to buy groceries today, but I forgot it was going to storm."

At that moment, Sakura's phone rang. "Ah, sorry. One moment." He walked towards the door to take the call under the cafe's awning just outside.

As Yu shook his wet hair out of his eyes, the black cat -- Morgana, he supposed -- leapt up on the stool next to him. "So you can understand me, huh?"

"As crazy as it feels to be talking to a cat, yeah."

"I am  _ not _ a cat!" Morgana said indignantly, tail in the air. "I -- "

"Hey, Morgana -- can you save your origin story for later?"

Kurusu had appeared from upstairs, interrupting Morgana's indignant sputtering. "So you're also a Persona-user," he said, shaking his head with a warm smile on his face. "Somehow I keep accumulating more of you. Sorry I haven't really talked to you before."

Yu shook his head. "I understand. You're probably busy with school, and part-time jobs, and friends, and -- whatever it is you need to do as a Persona-user here."

It wasn't really a question, but Kurusu took the hint, sitting down on Morgana's other side. "Have you heard of the Phantom Thieves?"

Whispers at school that he hadn't paid much attention to suddenly clicked into place; he  _ had _ heard something about the Phantom Thieves. The name Kitagawa Yusuke had been floating around the halls even before they'd met; the fact that he was suddenly moving into the dorms and away from his disgraced patron's atelier had caused a bit of a stir, and at Kurusu's mention, he did recall some of the rumors. "They're the people changing hearts?"

"Exactly," Morgana confirmed, somehow still managing to convey satisfaction and pride as a cat. "That's us. We go into the Metaverse -- that's the world formed by people's distorted cognitions -- and we steal their twisted desires."

"And that's where you can summon your Personas." Yu thought for a moment, glancing back to make sure Sakura was still on the phone; he was sure it was no coincidence Morgana had waited for the man to go outside before talking to him. "And you're the leader...Igor mentioned something about having two guests at the same time. You're the other Wild Card, aren't you?"

Kurusu looked surprised. "You've been in the Velvet Room? Wait, 'other' Wild Card?"

"Long story, I can tell you later." It looked like Sakura was wrapping up his call. "Look, I don't know how much of my power I still have, but I want to help if I can. I don't know what this 'ruin' that Igor was talking about is, but it sounds like it would affect more than just us."

"He's coming!" Morgana hissed, suddenly curling up in a much more cat-like position.

"Sure, that sounds great," Kurusu said warmly, his posture relaxing into something much more laid-back as the cafe door opened. "Why don't you meet us tomorrow in Shibuya after school? Just get on the train with Yusuke and he'll show you where to go."

Sakura chuckled. "Are you making more friends, Kurusu? You're going to have a whole entourage by the time your probation is over. Just stay out of trouble, all right?"

"I will," Kurusu said earnestly. He held out his hand and Yu shook it. "Nice to officially meet you, Narukami-san."

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I know nothing about art.  
> Also me: Let's write a story with Yusuke as a main character!


	4. The Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: canon-typical violence.

"Ngh..."

The alarm clock woke him, too early as it always felt these days. Forcing himself to move despite the fog that always plagued his mind in the morning, he shrugged on his Kosei uniform before dragging his feet to the kitchen to grab the last dregs of leftovers for breakfast. He used to be a morning person, but now nightmares plagued his sleep almost every night and he was constantly exhausted.

Breakfast, the train ride, school...everything proceeded as it always did until he was standing uncertainly at the school gates once classes were done, unsure where he was supposed to meet Yusuke. He was just about to pull his phone out when he caught sight of a dark purple shirt amidst the sea of white. Apparently part of Yusuke's artistic tendencies included not wearing the school uniform at any point in his life.

"Good afternoon," Yusuke said pleasantly, stopping next to him. "Shall we head to Shibuya?"

"Sure."

Yu wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The events in Inaba had just sort of unfolded around him and he hadn't had a choice but to get involved, but here, it felt like he was forcing himself into someone else's...whatever it was he was potentially getting himself into.

Yusuke led him off the train and up to a busy walkway. The crowd thinned in front of them momentarily, and Yu caught sight of Kurusu leaning against the railing, Morgana balancing next to him. Next to him was a blonde girl he didn't recognize, and another boy who looked vaguely familiar.

Kurusu caught sight of them, nodding slightly in acknowledgement and straightening up. The other two turned away from the window to face them, the girl wearing an interested look, the boy a guarded, almost unfriendly look, as Yu and Yusuke came to a stop in front of them. "All right, we're all here."

"Oh, so this is your friend, Yusuke?" the girl asked brightly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Takamaki Ann. Grumpy-ass here is Sakamoto Ryuji. We go to school with Akira."

"So what's your deal?" Sakamoto asked Yu, crossing his arms and leaning back against the railing, still scowling.

"Be nice, Ryuji," Morgana scolded, and Yu suddenly remembered where he had seen Sakamoto before: failing at studying with Kurusu at Leblanc. "He's a Persona-user."

"At least, I  _ think _ I still am," Yu said, feeling suddenly unsure. All he had to go on was his weird Velvet Room dream and the feeling that he could sense Izanagi somewhere in his mind.

Kurusu tilted his head. "You  _ think _ ? Actually -- why don't you just start with telling us about yourself. Yusuke mentioned you had fought before."

Yu took a deep breath before recounting as briefly as possible the murders in Inaba, the worsening fog, their progress through the case, and their fight with Izanami, trying to stay disconnected from his own words. As he finished, Takamaki's eyes were brimming with tears, and he had to look away from her so he wouldn't see. Instead, he looked at Kurusu. "I had a dream in the Velvet Room recently." As he expected, Kurusu nodded, and the others looked confused. "He said something about getting a second chance, and fighting ruin, and that he had two guests at the same time."

"Mm." Kurusu rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, if Igor had you in the Velvet Room, that's a pretty good sign you can help us in the Metaverse."

"Every time you talk about the 'Velvet Room', it makes me think of some kind of sleazy club," Takamaki complained.

"So...the Phantom Thieves exist to change the hearts of corrupted adults. When someone's desires become distorted, they make their own Palace in the Metaverse around the source of their distortion. If we go in and steal that source -- their Treasure -- they have a change of heart, and they confess to what they've done and start making amends."

"How do you find these people?"

"So far, kind of by accident. Our first target was a teacher at Shujin who was abusing students. Then when we met Yusuke, we started finding out some rumors about his teacher Madarame, and Madarame ultimately ended up being our next target. We're still trying to find someone we should go after next."

"Gotta be a big shot," Sakamoto boasted. "Get more people believin' in the Phantom Thieves."

"But someone who is truly awful," Yusuke said, sending Sakamoto a dark look. "It isn't just about fame."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So that's what we do," Kurusu cut across the brewing argument. "What do you think, Narukami-san? Do you still want to help us?"

"If I can."

"I think we should take you into Mementos and see if you can summon your Persona," Morgana suggested. "It's pointless to discuss you joining the team if you can't summon a Persona in this particular version of the cognitive world. And the entrance to Mementos is safe, if it turns out you can't. It’s the perfect test."

Kurusu nodded. "What do you think, Narukami-san? Want to try it?"

"Sure. Might as well do something useful with my life," he added under his breath.

"All right, it's settled. Pull out your phone," Morgana ordered, before walking him through how to enter Mementos -- whatever that was -- as a destination in the MetaNav. "Let's go."

The world around them wavered, and the crowd around them faded out of existence. Yu looked around and jumped when he realized the others were suddenly wearing vastly different outfits than they had a moment before. "What just happened?"

"We're in the Metaverse," Morgana said, only Morgana was now only vaguely cat-like as he stood on two feet and had a much larger head. "These outfits are a sign of these guys' rebellion against what society has put them through."

Yu looked down at himself. "I never was much of a rebel," he quipped, noticing his perfectly ordinary and unchanged Kosei uniform.

"We'll just have to see what happens. C'mon, let's go."

Yu followed them down an escalator, noticing that the normally bright and clean subway platform was decidedly less inviting in the Metaverse. Morgana stopped them at the bottom of the escalator. "Try summoning your Persona. We're far enough into the Metaverse that I think you might be able to."

Closing his eyes, Yu reached out to Izanagi's faint aura, trying to bring the Persona to the forefront of his mind. Something seemed to be getting in his way; try as he might, the familiar blue tarot card would not appear. Finally, he shook his head, opening his eyes.

"Joker. Fox." Morgana beckoned to Kurusu and Yusuke, who knelt down obligingly for Morgana to whisper something to them. Kurusu looked displeased, but nodded and straightened up; Yu couldn't see enough of Yusuke's face behind his kitsune mask to tell what he was feeling.

"Skull, Panther, hold here," Kurusu ordered. "We'll take him in a little ways."

"You don't want backup?" Takamaki said anxiously. "If he can't summon a Persona, you'll be short a person."

Kurusu waved a hand dismissively. "It's the first floor. I could clear it by myself. And Mona can heal if we need. But you remember your awakening, right? If something like that needs to happen for him, there's no reason to have more onlookers than strictly necessary."

Takamaki opened her mouth as if to say something else, but ultimately decided against it.

"Good thing I brought a comic book," Sakamoto said, immediately sliding down a nearby pillar and pulling the comic out unconcernedly.

"Let's go."

As they walked, Yu felt more and more uneasy. This was  _ nothing _ like the TV world. His glasses did nothing against the stale air, and he couldn't help but notice something peeking through the walls here and there that looked suspiciously like veins.

Senses on high alert, he heard the Shadow slithering before he saw it, instinctively holding his hand out, palm up, even though he didn't expect anything to happen.

Wait -- when had he lost Kurusu and the others?

The amorphous blob was now slithering towards him as it broke free into its true form, slime dripping off a skeleton as it reached toward him, alone in the tunnel.

_ Alone. _ He jerked backward, tripping over the tracks.

_ Alone. _ The word echoed in his mind as he frantically looked for something to use as a weapon.

_ Alone. _ The slime was on him as he stepped badly on the tracks, falling backwards.

_ Alone. _ He kicked out desperately, the slime barely noticing as it raised its own appendage to strike.

_ Alone. _ A strike across his face.

_ Alone, are you? So determined to shut out everyone else? _

Skeleton claws tore at his arm.

_ Will you turn away from an ally who has helped you from the beginning? _

Bony hands closed around his throat.

_ Will you shut out the light to escape the darkness? _

"No..."

_ Then do you know what must be done? _

One hand released his throat to cover his nose and mouth, and he fought --

"I'm  _ not _ alone -- Izanagi!"

_ It’s been a long time, hasn't it? _

A brilliant flash of light erupted, and the slime was suddenly thrown back against the wall as pain seared his veins, blocking out the Shadow, the train tracks, the darkened walls.  _ You spent long enough lost in your loss. Are you ready to stop letting it consume you? To seize this second chance you’ve been given and rebel against Izanami's sentence? _

"Yes," Yu breathed, fighting through the pain to get up to his hands and knees.

_ Then the deal is made whole yet again. _

The light seemed to coalesce directly around his eyes and he seized the legs of his glasses to pull them off, out of his very skin, and he leapt to his feet and raised the glasses up to the sky --

_ "Persona!" _

_ I am thou...Thou art I... _

Izanagi appeared in front of him, just as he remembered him. He wasted no time directing electricity at the slime. He could tell he wasn't exploiting any weaknesses, even without Rise's guidance, but this was still infinitely better than getting slowly slapped to death on the ground.

"Zorro! Garu!"

A gust of wind flew past Yu, ruffling his hair and knocking the slime flat on the ground, and suddenly Kurusu, Yusuke, and Morgana were there. "It's down!" Kurusu called. "Time for an all-out attack!"

Yu could have sworn Izanagi smiled at him as he instinctively leapt forward with the others, though he was sure he wasn't much help kicking the slime without a weapon. Regardless, it had soon evaporated, and Morgana scooped up a small metal clasp from where it had been. "Let's get back to a safe place," he said as he handed the clasp to Kurusu. "The platform's not far."

The moment they were back on the platform, Kurusu raised his mask and turned to face Yu. "I'm really sorry we left you alone there."

"It was my idea," Morgana cut in. "Since you couldn't summon your Persona at the entrance, I thought you might need a push. I'm just glad that slime was enough to do it."

"We were just around the corner," Yusuke added anxiously. "In case anything happened."

"Or didn't happen," Kurusu added, gesturing vaguely at Yu.

He looked down at himself. His school uniform had been replaced; a dark gray vest adorned with a metal lightning bolt pin fit closely around his torso, a long-sleeve white button-down underneath it. A long  _ saya _ was cinched to his side, holding a simple yet elegant katana at the ready. Dark gray pants and heavy studded boots completed the outfit, and some kind of gauzy material seemed to float around him, as if he were bringing his own personal rainstorm with him. Frowning in curiosity, he reached a hand to his face. Instead of a mask like the other Phantom Thieves, apparently Teddie's old glasses served as his Persona's vessel.

"Your glasses are like a one-way mirror," Yusuke mused, looking slightly displeased. "I can't see your eyes at all."

"Guess I won't be able to model effectively for you in this hellhole, then."

"We should get back to the others," Morgana said, cutting off Yusuke's response. "They're probably worried."

As they came up the escalators, Yu could see Sakamoto exactly where they'd left him, lazily turning the pages of his comic, while Takamaki was pacing back and forth restlessly. "You're back!" she exclaimed as she caught sight of them. "And you've changed!"

"Guess so."

Sakamoto closed his comic and stood up, finally looking less bored. "Dude, you look like a thundercloud. That's cool. So you do have a Persona, then?"

"Yeah, I was able to summon him."

Kurusu turned to him. "So how about it? Do you still want to join the Phantom Thieves? If you  _ are _ another Wild Card, that would give us a lot more flexibility in battle strategies."

_ Perhaps, together, you can save this world from ruin. _

"I'm in," Yu said resolutely.

Takamaki clapped her hands together. "Yes! Now we just need to come up with a code name for you. We don't use our real names in the Metaverse so we don't take a chance on people's cognition picking up on that and figuring out who we are in the real world."

"A code name, huh? Hmm."

"How 'bout Storm?" Sakamoto suggested.

Yu grimaced. "Too angry."

"Cloud?" Takamaki chimed in.

"Too anime."

They kept going back and forth with weather-related suggestions until Yusuke finally spoke. "Spark."

It was Izanagi's spark that had opened this whole chapter...and it spoke more to how he might be the catalyst for change, as opposed to just being based on his costume. "I like it," he agreed, nodding.

Morgana bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, for all the world reminding him of Teddie. "All right! Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Spark!"


	5. Cognitive Dissonance

It was a familiar routine: school, work, friends, Metaverse. Being part of the Phantom Thieves caused his schedule to fill up quickly and he threw himself into it. The less time he was at home alone, the less time he had to dwell on what he had lost.

He was finding it harder to form the same sorts of bonds he had had in Inaba, a fact that Caroline started regularly reminding him of when he came to fuse Personas in the Velvet Room. "You need to make more friends, Inmate," she said, slamming her baton against the bars of his cell as he tried to parse through the possibilities available with his current stock.

He winced at the loud clang, looking wearily up at Caroline. "You mentioning this for the fifth time doesn't make it any easier."

"Is that  _ attitude _ I hear?"

"Surely you have noticed that some fusions are out of your capabilities," Justine said, stepping in before Caroline could harangue him any further. "You've kept parts of your soul locked away since Inaba, and until you break down those walls, those arcana are closed to you. You are still of some help to our other Trickster, of course, but your power is limited."

Yu sighed, the extent of his fusion limitations apparent now that Justine had spelled it out.  _ Star...Emperor...Fool... _ He had held Personas of other arcana on the rare occasion he had completed a successful negotiation with them, but they were hard to control, so he had just been fusing them the first chance he got. "It was so easy in Inaba."

"Grief and loss are powerful things to overcome. But you may find that if you let the light of others in, it will make that process easier."

He finished up his meager fusions in silence. It  _ was _ easier now than it had been at first; even though he hadn't really talked to Sakamoto or Takamaki all that much outside of their excursions into the Metaverse, he had found an easy companionship with Kurusu, who seemed perfectly happy to talk to him at Leblanc. And of course, Yusuke, with his earnest sincerity. Even if he could be quite the weird little bird sometimes, Yu had been drawn to the artist from their very first meeting.

"Listen up, Inmate." Caroline's brash voice broke through his thoughts. "Your friend Mr. Other Wild Card has been slacking off on some tasks we gave him. If you can pick up the slack, we'll consider doing something nice for you."

"I'm listening."

"We want  _ him _ to show us a Flauros with Tarukaja. But he doesn't have an Eligor with that skill to fuse into it. Register such a Persona in the Compendium for us. That's something you can do even right now."

"Does me having it help him?"

"You two share a Compendium, idiot. You probably just haven't noticed because you've been the one mostly filling out the only three arcana you can see."

"Oh."

Yu scanned through said Compendium. "I thought it sounded familiar," he muttered, summoning the Eligor he had already acquired in Mementos. He'd have to fight with it a bit to level it, but that wouldn't be too difficult. "I'll be back after we go to Mementos the next time."

"You better not forget!"

He laid down on the cell's cot, closing his eyes and feeling himself floating through nothing for a moment as the Velvet Room dissolved and he found himself back in Shibuya. With nothing in particular to do, he wandered down to the Underground Mall, thinking maybe he would buy some flowers to put on his table to brighten up the place a little.

"Hey! Narukami-san!"

He turned at the sound of his name to see Takamaki hurrying down the stairs. "Can't believe I ran into you here," she said brightly. "Do you have some time? I want an unbiased opinion about an outfit I want to model in. My agency is affiliated with the designer label, so of  _ course _ they're pushing it. Akira just tells me anything looks good on me, and Ryuji won't stop covertly ogling my boobs and then claiming he isn't."

"Uh -- sure." Yu was a bit overwhelmed by the wave of Maximum Sunshine Takamaki that had just happened, so he just kind of followed along as she started leading him to the designer clothing store.

"Wait here." She snatched up the various pieces of clothing she needed and then disappeared into the fitting room for a minute before reappearing and striking a pose in front of him. "What do you think? Be honest."

Yu considered the layers, feeling something was just  _ off _ about it. It wasn’t "an aesthetic disaster" by any means, as Yusuke would put it, but it just didn't suit Takamaki. "It feels like you're playing dress-up. It doesn't look  _ bad, _ but it doesn't really look like  _ you. _ Akira's right, you do look beautiful in anything you wear, but this almost feels like the clothes are overshadowing you."

"Ohhhhhhh." Takamaki looked relieved. "That's what I was feeling! I couldn't figure out what it was about the outfit, but it just didn't feel right. I'm going to tell my agency it doesn't work." She turned and studied herself critically in the mirror. "Maybe with a more understated jacket...Oh! Sorry! Let me change and then we can go do whatever shopping you needed to get done." She skipped back into the fitting room, coming out in her regular clothes in an impressively short amount of time. "So what were you looking for down here?"

"I was going to buy some flowers from Rafflesia."

"Ooh, got a girlfriend?"

Yu threw her an exasperated glance. "I don't have time for a girlfriend."

"Sure you do! Just find one of those cute artist girls that just wants to sketch all the time, and she can just draw stuff for a bit while you study and then you can reward each other's hard work with making out."

Yu laughed. "Aside from the making out, that sounds like what happens when Yusuke comes over, and I don't think he wants to date me."

"I dunno," Takamaki said slyly. "He does spend an awful lot of time staring at you."

"I'm an artistic curiosity to him, that's all." Why was his face getting warm?

"Aw." Takamaki made a disappointed face as they rounded the corner to Rafflesia and changed the subject abruptly. "What're your favorite colors? I feel like all I've ever seen you wear is gray."

"Come on. My school uniform shirt is white."

"That's not a color! Your pants are  _ gray. _ Your hair is  _ gray. _ Your eyes are  _ gray. Please, _ let me help you break out of your monochrome shell one of these days. Ooh! This bouquet is interesting. It has blue flowers."

"It's not bad," Yu agreed. In fact, looking around the shop, it was probably the most unique of the pre-selected bouquets, and he didn't feel like placing a special order. "Yeah, I'll go with that one, actually."

Takamaki flashed him a winning smile. "You help me with my clothes, I help you with your flowers. Give and take."

Yu paid for his purchase and started to head back to catch the train. "Going home already?" Takamaki asked, falling into step beside him.

"Yeah. Don't want these to dry out."

"I suppose. Well, thanks for helping me out! See you later!"

He watched her go, feeling oddly low-spirited. In many ways, she reminded him of Rise -- bubbly personality, stunning good looks, tendency to go out of her way to help others -- but she was just dissimilar enough that being around her was like some sort of cognitive dissonance. Yu felt like his brain was vibrating trying to reconcile the two.

With a heavy sigh, he walked toward the train, carefully cradling the flowers.

* * *

_ The slithering grew closer... _

_ He tripped over the train tracks, falling backwards and slamming his head against the ground. Slime descended upon him, raking its skeleton fingers across his face, as he screamed for Izanagi, for Yosuke, for Yukiko, knowing they were gone, all gone, and he could never reach them again.... _

Something was restraining him and he flailed in pure terror before rolling onto what felt much more like tatami than the floor of Mementos, and he realized he was just tangled in his own blankets. Feeling foolish, he extricated himself and folded up the vicious attack blankets, figuring there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.

It had been a while since he'd had a nightmare, long enough that he had finally started to hope they had faded for good. He dragged himself to the kitchen to make breakfast, scrambling eggs with little enthusiasm and eating them with even less. He wondered if Leblanc was open yet; if he wanted to make it through the school day, caffeine was a strict necessity, and Sakura's blend was preferable to vending machine coffee.

The sign was still flipped to Closed, but Kurusu was eating breakfast at the counter and hurried over to unlock the door for him. "What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep. I didn't know if the cafe was open yet -- "

"You look like the dead walking." Sakura cut him off, setting a cup of coffee out for him. "Schoolwork got you down?"

"Personal stuff," Yu said vaguely, looking down into the dark liquid.

He could feel Kurusu glance over, but was too tired to care. "I'll walk with you to the station. I normally catch the later train since Shujin is closer, but I can just study for a bit when I get to school."

"Thanks."

Kurusu wasted no time once the door to Leblanc had closed behind them. "'Personal stuff'?"

"I just -- I had a nightmare. That's all."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kurusu watching him. Morgana had the decency to pretend to be ignoring them.

Yu kicked the ground as they walked, reminding himself of Yosuke, with a pang in his chest. "Look," he said finally, when the silence had stretched on too long, "I'm not used to being the one who needs to be comforted, or to have someone listen to my problems. There wasn't even anyone I would have  _ wanted _ to talk to like that until Inaba. And now they're all gone." It was like a dam was breaking, and he couldn't stop talking. "You want to know what my 'personal stuff' is? It's that. I lost everything. And here I am, doing that same fighting-evil-in-the-cognitive-world thing, and I'm terrified it's going to end the same way, and I'm terrified of losing everything again. That's why my fusions are so limited. I'm  _ not _ making those same bonds. I don't want people to get close to me. I don't want to be responsible for that."

A comforting hand was placed on his shoulder, and he purposefully looked away, ashamed of his uncharacteristic outburst. "You know that you need people like that, though," Kurusu said seriously. "You've already started finding them in spite of yourself. When Yusuke told you about us, you could've looked the other way. When I asked you to join us, you could've declined. But you didn't. And now -- well, even if you don't think you want it, we're going to keep trying to be your friends. Besides, wouldn't it be nice for Caroline to have one fewer thing to gripe about?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"Lucky guess." Kurusu shrugged. "You've made it this far, Yu. Just keep at it."

Yu started a little at the use of his first name. The other boy had always been careful to use the appropriate honorifics with the people he'd interacted with. "Making a point about being friends, Akira?" he said, trying to smile.

Akira smirked as they reached the platform. "Maybe." He stretched as they came to a stop, waiting for the train. "Think you'll make it through the school day?"

"I'll manage."

They spent the train ride to Shibuya in comfortable silence, each listening to the bustle around them. As Akira lifted a hand in farewell when they needed to get on different trains, Yu finally spoke again. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

* * *

"Caroline, I have your Persona."

The next time he went to the Velvet Room, he wasted no time getting to the point. Across the room, Justine was speaking to Akira, but her soft voice did not carry. It was rare that both Wild Cards went to the Velvet Room at the same time, but they had just finished a run through Mementos and it seemed like a good time.

"About time, Inmate." Caroline's response was perfectly on script before she raised her voice to address her sister. "Justine! This one finally stopped slacking off!"

"Must you be quite so rough, Caroline?" Justine opened the Compendium she carried, nodding in satisfaction. "One moment, please," she said to Akira, before walking over.

"Guess you want your reward, huh?" Caroline looked over at Justine. "Ready?"

"I think you would enjoy telling him more than I would, Caroline."

"Oh fine." Caroline smiled at Yu, a smile that would have felt much more menacing if it weren't coming from someone who looked like an elementary schoolgirl wearing a police costume. "Your reward is that we will test your fusion abilities. We've got a second list here just for you that's different from his. You better feel special, Inmate!"

"Very special."

Yu's dry sarcasm was met by a predictable smack of a baton against the bars. He was so used to the sound that he didn't even jump.

"As you work through these tasks, we will give you access to additional fusion methods," Justine said with a gentle smile.

"Don't take too long unlocking these fusions," Caroline ordered. "You wouldn't want to fall behind that one, would you?" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Akira, who was amusedly watching from his cell.

"I'll do my best."

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yu is doing an admirable job pretending he's okay most of the time, but he is pretty Not Okay right now. I'm sure that won't be a problem later or anything.


	6. A Day at the Lake

"Why?"

Yu's question broke the almost idyllic silence. He and Yusuke had taken a train out to Hashimoto Station and hiked up the road to Lake Miyagase, and despite the beautiful weather, there were very few people out at the small park.

Distracted from his sketching, Yusuke raised his eyes from the page. "Why what?"

"Why do you keep wanting to draw me?"

Yusuke’s eyes widened and he looked simultaneously confused and concerned. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was bothering you. I can draw something else."

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Yu rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he had picked up from Akira. "I'm not bothered. I just was wondering...what is it that you get out of drawing the same person over and over?"

Yusuke's concern melted into a smile, and he sat down next to Yu, flipping back in his sketchbook and handing it over. Yu turned the pages. There were some relatively lifeless landscapes. A sketch of a girl hurrying away, her hair mid-swing. Several half-finished drawings of what looked like Shadows, as if done from memory and abandoned midway. Then the drawing of him at Tamagawadai.

From there, Yusuke's sketches took on a different character. There were more people. Sakamoto and Ann arguing with Akira in the background making a face. Students eating lunch. A couple of drawings here and there of him that he was sure Yusuke had drawn from memory. A pair of girls walking arm-in-arm and laughing. And the one from the last time he and Yusuke had eaten lunch together, on one of the days when he had been awakened by his nightmares. A sharp contrast to the peaceful picture from Tamagawadai.

"Your eyes."

"Mm?"

"Every time I see you, they're different. I want to capture that. It's inspired me to pay more attention to the people around me -- when they're happy, when they're sad, or angry, or wistful. Perhaps, with enough practice, I'll be able to put all that together to be able to draw you properly. It's not just drawing 'the same person' repeatedly. It's drawing  _ you _ repeatedly."

Yu blushed as he closed the sketchbook, feeling both flattered and embarrassed, with a small warmth in his chest. "So I'm your case study?"

"I prefer to think of you as my muse. Please, try not to assign your psychology terminology to everything in your life, Narukami-senpai."

"Sure thing, Kitagawa-kun."

They both laughed, and Yu shook his head. "I don't understand you, but I like you."

"Yes, I believe you’ve used the phrase 'weird little bird' to describe me before," Yusuke said serenely. "Perhaps I'll find some birds to draw for you."

"I would hang them on my wall."

Now it was Yusuke's turn to blush. "I would have to do more than a simple sketch, then."

This time, when Yu settled on the grass so Yusuke could draw, he watched the artist interestedly. Before, he had been too wrapped up in trying to look a certain way, or keep his own darkness at bay, but today, he felt more interested in the process of Yusuke's drawing. A few minutes of drawing; a pause to evaluate; and then a look up.

Yusuke locked eyes with Yu, as if trying to memorize him. There was that feeling again like that first time Yusuke had walked into Leblanc -- something akin to touching a cool stream but also getting...pleasantly...shocked? He barely had time to process before Yusuke was looking down again to draw. Suddenly the summer weather didn't seem so beautiful, as the midday sun beat down.

Finally, Yusuke shut his sketchbook, placing it carefully back in his bag. "Shall we head back?"

The idea of returning back to sit in his apartment with nothing to do but homework sounded unbearable at that moment. "Mm...why don't we walk around a little here first?"

"As you wish."

They bought some drinks from a nearby vending machine before wandering the paths around the small park, chatting idly. After a while, the conversation petered out, as they came to a stop on a bridge, looking out across the water.

Yusuke glanced over at him. "Why psychology?"

"Hm? Oh." Yu shrugged. "I figured maybe it would help me understand interactions with Personas better. Plus, it's interesting to learn about how people view and process the world."

"Maybe it will help you learn how to heal yourself better, too."

"What do you mean?" Yu asked, a little too quickly.

"You haven't processed what happened to you," Yusuke said bluntly. "You haven't told me much, but you never talk about anything in your life before being here. I've seen how tired and closed-off you look when you don't think anyone's watching you." He raised his hand, hovering it awkwardly in the air between them for a moment, before gingerly placing it on Yu's shoulder, clearly unfamiliar with comforting gestures. "I don't know what I can do to help, but please, if you ever want to talk, I will listen."

Something caught in Yu's throat, as simultaneous feelings of gratitude, anxiety, and sadness washed over him, and all he could do was nod, eyes downcast. Yusuke searched his face for a moment longer before removing the hand from his shoulder. "For now, it's getting late, and we still have a two-hour train ride back to Shibuya."

"Yeah." Yu cleared his throat and pushed the darkness away, as he was too used to doing during the days. "Let's go."


	7. In Sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: panic attack.

"Are we done yet?" Ann complained, as they dispatched what felt like the millionth guard dog stalking around the floating bank. "This is taking  _ forever." _

"At least it's less creepy than Mementos," Akira said, sheathing his dagger and stretching his arms over his head.

"Speak for yourself," Niijima muttered. She was still new to the Phantom Thieves, and while she had easily slotted into her role as strategist during fights, she still seemed stiff and on edge in between battles.

"It's just  _ boring," _ Sakamoto complained. "I thought bein' a bank robber would be a lot more badass."

"The repetitive patterns of the bank safes provide a lot of room for introspection," Yusuke mused, before coughing into his elbow. He had been trailing the group a lot more than usual today, and it was hard to tell under the mask, but Yu thought he was looking paler than usual.

"All these concentric circles we're going around are making me dizzy," Morgana moaned.

"Take it up with the Palace ruler," Niijima snapped. "At least each one brings us back to this central location, and there's a safe room nearby. How is everyone feeling? Can we get another circle unlocked before calling it a day?"

"I'm about tapped out," Sakamoto said.

"I could keep going," Ann said.

"I shouldn't push it," Morgana said.

Yu shook his head. "I still haven't recovered from earlier."

Akira sighed, rubbing his forehead as he considered. "I can probably keep going. Queen, swap in for Mona. Fox, you replace Skull."

Yusuke walked forward to take his place in the forward party, and Morgana frowned at his back after he'd passed, eyes following his slow steps.

"Let's go."

It was a disaster. The first few fights were more difficult than in any of the previous circles. Once they were in the middle of the maze at the bottom, Akira tripped over a box that had been sticking out from one of the storage shelves in the bowels of the vault, catching himself on one of the laser sights for the security system, and they were immediately surrounded by Shadows.

Even the backup group had to pitch in on that fight to keep the party from being stabbed from behind; without much of a reserve of energy to draw on for summoning Personas, Yu, Sakamoto, and Morgana all relied on their weapons, putting themselves much more into striking range than they wanted. One Shadow conjured a sledgehammer out of midair and swung it into Sakamoto before he could dodge out of the way and he flew sideways into the wall, groaning.

"Mabufu!"

The air around them grew cold as Yusuke's Persona spun in midair, briefly encasing their opponents in ice. When that ice shattered, all but one Shadow fell to the ground, dissolving into smoke. As Goemon faded away, Yusuke sank to his hands and knees, clearly exhausted.

With precision, Akira plunged his dagger into the last Shadow's torso, finishing it off. "We're leaving," he said, helping Ann to her feet as Sakamoto wobbled his way over, clearly still disoriented from his sudden encounter with the wall, and Yusuke struggled back to a standing position with Yu's help. "Stand close."

Everyone clustered around him as he lifted a Goho-M over his head and crushed it open, the familiar rush of magic swirling around them and depositing them at the entrance to the bank. Morgana summoned Zorro, casting Media to heal the worst of everyone's injuries so they could go back to the real world without attracting undue attention.

Once they had reappeared in the middle of Shibuya, they split to go their separate ways. Akira disappeared down a side street to sell their latest spoils to the airsoft shop. Yusuke sat down on a nearby bench, now looking flushed and maybe a little nauseous. "Are you sick?" Yu asked, sitting down next to him.

Yusuke quickly brought his arm up to block a sneeze, wincing as he lowered it. "It seems so," he said reluctantly, voice rough. "I needed to buy groceries today, as well."

"You've looked like you could barely walk through this entire trip. Why didn't you tell Akira you weren't feeling well?"

"I didn't want to be the reason we delayed. I felt well enough when we started out."

Yu placed a hand on his forehead and Yusuke flinched backward. "Your hands are freezing," he protested weakly.

_ Was that really just because my hand is cold…? _ "No, you're burning up."

"I suppose I should get back to the dorms before I start feeling any worse."

"Didn't you just say you were out of groceries? You're not going to get better if you're just lying in your dorm with no food, burning up with fever. Stay with me for tonight, so I can make sure you're taken care of."

Probably the most alarming sign of how sick he was, was how easily he agreed. Yu ducked into the convenience store to buy disposable masks for the two of them to wear on the ride home, out of courtesy to the other passengers, before guiding Yusuke to the train to Yongen-jaya. Fortunately, the train was empty enough that they managed to find seats.

Out of habit from his years growing up nearly by himself, Yu kept a collection of foods that were easy to prepare in the event of illness, along with various medicines that he might need, so it was easy enough for him to quickly provide Yusuke with what he needed. Yusuke fell into a restless sleep almost immediately upon crawling into the futon, face still flushed, and Yu dampened a washcloth with cold water to lay on his forehead.

He removed the washcloth after a few minutes, gently pushing Yusuke's damp hair out of where it had become plastered to his face. Taking care of someone was nothing new to him; Nanako had been ill a couple of times while he had been in Inaba, and Dojima inevitably got called back into the station whenever this happened, leaving her in Yu's care. Plus there had been the times when status effects in the TV world had hit someone harder than expected. Yu had always stayed behind to offer what support he could when that happened. That was part of being a leader, after all, but it was also part of being a friend. So then why did this feel different? More...personal, somehow?

He re-moistened the cloth, placing it back on Yusuke's forehead one last time. Once he was satisfied Yusuke wasn't going to spontaneously combust overnight, he curled up on the window seat, pulling a spare blanket over himself as the collection of pillows he had shoved to the side fell over him. Deciding he could deal with these strange new feelings later, he closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.

* * *

With the rainy season came an increase in Yu's anxiety. Even though he knew that Tokyo's Metaverse was not connected to the weather in the same way that Inaba's TV world was, he was still on edge, waiting for the rain to end and the fog to set in. He found himself staring at the TV at midnight almost every night, even waking up if he had somehow managed to fall asleep before that. He briefly considered getting rid of the TV, but at least this way with it there, he could quickly reassure himself that nothing was happening.

His alarm went off, waking him from yet another night of terrible sleep. Rolling over, he looked out the window, and his stomach dropped.

Thick fog blanketed everything outside. A faint buzzing in his ears drowned out any sound he was making as he stood up, walking over to the window. Not even Leblanc directly across the street was visible. He racked his brains.  _ Who were we supposed to save? I...We didn’t... _

Feeling suddenly sick, he dashed to the bathroom, emptying anything left from last night's dinner into the toilet before curling up on the floor, shaking. He couldn't go out there. Couldn't find out how they had failed.  _ Who _ they had failed. Faces flashed before his eyes, bodies strewn upside down from telephone poles, and he scrambled up to retch again. Nobody was here to see him, the utter failure and wreck that he was. He was alone.

Everything blurred around him as he lay there. A distant buzz seared his eardrums and he flinched, curling up tighter, and then more buzzes. He slammed his hands over his ears. Everything washed over him, crashing waves trying to drown him in the knowledge of his own inadequacy. Maybe he was dreaming. He felt adrift, unmoored from anything but the cold tile of the floor.

Sharper noises now. Disconnected, adding to the din.

"Yu!"

He heard that. His name. And then someone was there, pulling him off the floor and into an embrace, asking a question. He couldn't respond. His fingers curled, gripping some kind of clothing. Someone else's breathing and heartbeat, steadier than his own. The person was still talking, a soothing sound. The world spun just a little slower. With effort, he tried to focus on the words.

" -- saw a cat on the way to school. I wish I could feed it, but I -- "

"Yusuke?" he whispered hoarsely.

A sigh of relief. "I'm here."

"How -- ?"

"I found your spare key. You weren't at school and no one could get in touch with you, so I came to check on you."

Yu wanted to say  _ thanks, _ but another wave of panic overtook him and he clutched Yusuke's shirt again, willing it to pass.

When he had finally calmed down again, Yusuke shifted position. "Will you be okay for a moment if I go get you some water?"

"I think so." He suddenly realized how parched he was. If Yusuke was here after school, then he had been lying on the floor of his bathroom for...eight hours?

He accepted the glass Yusuke handed him as the other boy sat back down next to him. The water felt good on his abraded throat, and as the panic slowly started to recede, he finally looked over. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Don't apologize. I'm just glad I came."

"Is it -- " he fought down a wave of nausea -- "still foggy?"

"No, the fog cleared by the end of first period."

"And nothing -- strange -- happened?"

"No. Everything was normal today." Yusuke hesitated. "Is that what caused your anxiety? The fog?"

"We hadn't saved anyone...the fog meant we were too late..."

Yusuke frowned for a moment before apparently piecing something together. "Yu, it's different here. The fog means nothing to the Metaverse."

"I know...it's just...I'm sorry. I can't get away from it."

Shame was starting to replace the anxiety. He had failed in Inaba, he was being a burden here, he couldn't even hold himself together --

"Stop."

"What?"

"Stop dwelling on the past. You can't change what's already happened. All you can change is what you do now. There's no point in beating yourself up."

"How did you know -- ?"

"Your eyes."

Of course, the person who had spent more time staring at him than anyone else in the past few months would be able to read him. He sighed, suddenly feeling stiff and achy. "I should probably get up off the floor."

Yusuke stood up with him, catching him as he swayed, lightheaded, before carefully guiding him to sit on the window seat. "I'm guessing you haven't eaten since yesterday, either." It wasn't really a question. He supposed Yusuke was familiar with the symptoms of lack of food. "Do you have ingredients? I can make something."

"I don't know. Maybe."

Yusuke placed a blanket over him, and he opened his mouth to object, but the slight weight was comforting. He watched as Yusuke busied himself in the small kitchen, searching through the fridge and cupboards and pulling something together.

Yu felt almost normal after eating; he was exhausted, but at least his mind was no longer actively trying to destroy him from the inside. Maybe he would be able to sleep tonight.

"Mm." Yusuke slid off the window seat and knelt next to his bag, which he had apparently just dropped on the floor when he had found Yu in the midst of his panic attack earlier. "I almost forgot. I was going to give you this today."

He handed over a small canvas, looking slightly embarrassed. It was a forest scene, with birds sitting here and there on the branches, two chasing after each other in mid-flight. Unlike most of what Yu had seen, Yusuke had fully painted this one, catching the sunlight filtering through the leaves, the movement of the birds, the peace of the forest.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Yusuke."

Yusuke's eyes instinctually flickered away before he looked back at Yu, gaze clear but cheeks pink. "I'm glad you like it."

Yu placed the painting on the table; he'd have to get something to hang it on later. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep. "I think I'm going to go to bed now."

"Do you want me to stay here?"

Yu sighed, debating internally. "I think I'll be fine," he said finally. "It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. And I'm so exhausted I think I'll be able to sleep pretty well."

"Okay. If you're sure." Yusuke gave him some time to change his mind, then slid off the window seat to gather his things. "Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks again."

"Of course." Yusuke nodded, before opening the door. "Good night."

"'Night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yu keeps his spare key in the fake potted plant outside his door. Is that smart? No. Is it convenient for worried friends? You bet.


	8. Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings for this chapter: canon-typical violence, vague status-ailment-induced suicidal ideation

"...and that is where we will wrap up for today. Today's material will be on your final, so prepare accordingly."

The bell rang and Yu started packing his things. Today had been much better than yesterday, but he still felt drained. Through some chain of communication he didn't quite understand, he had received a doctor's note from Takemi, the clinic doctor who had examined him on his first night in Tokyo, excusing his absence yesterday, so it didn't count against his attendance record, but he still felt like there had been judgmental eyes on him all day long.

"Narukami, a word?"

Suzuki-sensei waited for the rest of the class to leave before handing him some kind of pamphlet. He frowned as he unfolded it; it seemed to be about the counseling resources available at the school.

"Forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions, but from the information in your file, your absence yesterday, and how you seem to be  _ physically _ fine -- " a delicate emphasis -- "this might be something to consider. Fujimori-sensei has been with Kosei for a few years now, and I myself have benefited from her advice. Just something to consider."

"Thank you, sensei," Yu said absently, opening the pamphlet and scanning through it as Suzuki-sensei nodded and left.

It made sense; clearly he wasn't handling the events from Inaba well, even despite all his efforts to apply his basic psychology courses to his own mind. On the other hand...how was he supposed to talk about what had happened without mentioning the TV world, or Izanami, or Personas?

_ I guess I don't have to talk specifically about that....I can just say there was an accident? _

He came to a stop, realizing his feet had taken him straight to the counselor's office without him making a conscious decision. The door was open, and the dark-haired woman inside had already looked up. "Are you here to see me?" she asked kindly.

Yu blew out a breath. "I guess so."

"Come in and sit down, then. Anywhere is fine."

The office was cozy, with a small couch and a couple of armchairs in one half, desk and bookshelves in the other. As Yu perched awkwardly on the edge of the couch, Fujimori-sensei busied herself with closing the door and making tea. "I like to start with an introduction, so we both understand a little about each other. I'm Fujimori Mizuki. I've been a psychologist for eight years and here at Kosei for three. I studied at Todai and like to play tennis and garden in my spare time. When it rains, I go to the konbini and buy beef onigiri."

"Why beef specifically?"

She laughed. "A friend of mine and I started the tradition in high school. It's one of the few things I haven't outgrown from back then." She settled back into her chair, taking a sip of tea from her cup.

Yu shifted, also lifting the cup to his lips to give himself a moment before speaking. "Narukami Yu, third-year. Transferred here this spring. I, uh, don't really have any hobbies or rainy day traditions."

"None at all?"

"Right now, I go to school, do homework, work at a movie theater, and let my friend draw me. I don't really have much else."

Fujimori noted something down on her pad of paper. "Tell me more about your friend. What's their name?"

"Yusuke."

"Yusuke? Would this be Kitagawa Yusuke?"

"Y-yes?"

"Ah, the drawing makes sense now. You two are close, then?"

The visit continued in this vein for a while, Fujimori asking seemingly minor questions and Yu answering, and even though it didn't really seem like any of the questions were deep or impactful, Yu found himself feeling slightly better by the time Fujimori glanced at her watch and nodded. "I think that's all for today. If you'd like, we could set up another time to talk? Now that we've established a baseline, we can start talking about what's on your mind and see how we can work through it next time."

"Sure, that would be good."

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Empress Arcana... _

* * *

The summer rolled on. As Makoto settled into her role and Sakura Futaba, hacker extraordinaire, joined the Phantom Thieves, the rhythm became more predictable. Consistently, Akira would have them train in Mementos in the afternoons for most of the week directly after clearing a Palace, then they would mostly rest and attend to their other obligations for the rest of the time.

Futaba's Palace had been particularly rough; most of Akira's Personas were weak to either Bless or Curse spells, and he always seemed to pick the worst times to swap between them. Multiple times, the telltale sound of Hama cards flickering into existence around him heralded him dropping suddenly, and they had used up a decent number of their revival beads when it was all said and done.

_ "Updating guidance information." _

Akira nodded at his phone before putting it back in his pocket. "Dealing with Medjed seems to have opened up a new area, just like you thought, Mona."

"Of course it did. Have I ever been wrong about that?"

"Nah, just literally everything else," Sakamoto said dismissively.

"Like you'd do any better," Morgana snapped, before turning back to Akira. "Want to start investigating there immediately?"

"We'll warm up starting at the preceding rest area. We've got a couple of targets to track down there, anyway." Akira's eyes swept over the team. "Queen, Skull, Panther, with me. Fox, Spark, Mona, stay back with Oracle for now. We'll make switches partway through."

Everyone nodded, and Akira activated the navigation that would take them directly to the rest area. Yu still didn't understand the mechanics behind how they could navigate within the Metaverse; in the TV world, they'd had to physically walk to wherever they wanted to go, and the only sort of instant-travel ability they had were the Goho-M items they could buy from the Shiroku Store's eclectic shelves that would get them out of a jam inside dungeons. Whatever the mechanism was, he wasn't complaining. Even thinking about going down the number of escalators they'd have to take to get down to the bottom of Mementos bored him.

They found and dealt with their targets without incident, having been in this area a couple of times already, before arriving at the platform in the depths. "Right about...now," Akira said, miming opening a door as the wall in front of them opened to a new set of escalators. "All right. Everyone swap with your backup."

With a cat's agility, Morgana sprung into place where Makoto had been a moment before. Yusuke and Ann passed each other and exchanged high-fives. Sakamoto and Yu ignored each other. Try as he might, Yu was ambivalent to Sakamoto at the best of times, the boy's crudeness and lack of visible empathy for his teammates incredibly grating. Akira waited for everyone to be in position.

"Let's go."

They paused on the platform for Morgana to transform into his bus self, then started in on their exploration. The first few floors were nothing new, just replays of battles they'd had at the beginning of Futaba’s Palace, and they were stronger now.

Futaba whistled as she scanned the sixth floor. "Well, that's a nice welcome," she said. "Lots of treasure, but the Shadows are stronger than normal. Be careful."

Makoto drove them around until Morgana spotted a Shadow, and then they sprang into action. Naga was weak to wind, so one quick blast from Zorro was enough to knock it down. As they progressed further into the labyrinth, though, they started faring worse and worse. Isis' Agilao knocked Yusuke flat on his back, just as a Garula from its Anzu partner whipped the flames into a frenzy, singeing Akira in the process. Yu swapped in a Persona to target an elemental weakness, forgetting that it was weak to the attack of one of the other demons on the field, and paid for that almost instantly. Anubis traced an outline in the air and a set of brightly-glowing cards surrounded Morgana, killing him instantly. "Rez the healer!" Futaba shouted, and Yusuke, who was closest, dropped the hand that had been about to direct Goemon, rushing over with a revival bead.

Even Akira was breathing heavily when they regrouped at the end of the battle. "How long until the next rest area?"

"Rest of this floor, one more, and then I think it's right after that."

Akira sighed in frustration. "Let's keep going. I think we'll still be okay."

"I can swap back in if anyone needs," Ann said quickly. "I'm still feeling all right."

"Nothing's weak to fire down here," Futaba pointed out. "Not resistant, either, but it's still something to think about."

"We'll keep it in mind. For now, let's keep -- "

"Watch out!" Makoto barked.

It was too late. Shadows had ambushed them. Almost simultaneously, Yusuke and Morgana let out pained cries as fire and electricity shot towards them, and Akira narrowly dodged yet another Hamaon. Without time to summon a Persona, Yu leapt forward, katana in hand, and then suddenly the world went white around him.

Fog filled his vision --  _ but Teddie's glasses? _ \-- except for the blood-red tiles of the floor. A thousand tentacles crept forward as the oppressive silence settled around him, weighing him down as if he were being buried in a foggy grave.

Chie kicked away as many of the tentacles as she could, her  _ kiai _ as strong as ever until the tentacles wrapped around her ankle, tripping her. Yukiko had already been restrained, but Amaterasu was still responding to her, bringing forth fire until Yukiko collapsed from exhaustion and was pulled under, despite Teddie's efforts to pull her away. He succeeded only in becoming the next victim. Kanji and Naoto were back to back, trying desperately to protect each other and him, but they could not overpower the mass of darkness. Rise, unable to fight, shrieked as she was dragged into the abyss.

Only Yosuke remained, his lithe form darting around as he slashed with his remaining kunai in one hand and directed Susano-o with the other in a last-ditch effort. "We can still do this, partner!" he shouted, and as if the darkness took this as a challenge, a large mass rose up from all around him. He locked eyes with Yu, a look of fierce trust on his face until he was gone.

Alone. He was alone. Always alone. Would always be alone.

He didn't want to fight anymore. There was no point. The bright fog around him hurt, the red tiles searing his eyes. One small, slimy hand caught him, with the whispered promise of oblivion. Then two.

He surrendered to the blissful darkness.

* * *

He choked on his own breath, the unfamiliar feeling of oxygen searing his lungs as ice-cold hands grasped his arm. There was some kind of discussion happening directly over him, worried voices cutting through the fog with their unwelcome din. A feeling of frustration settled in, as if the distraction of the voices had robbed him of something he had been waiting for.

Someone said his name. He didn't want to respond, squeezing his eyelids shut even more tightly as the voices started separating from the background noise.

"He's coming to," a familiar voice said, with pure relief, unfortunately intelligible to him.

Unwillingly, he opened his eyes, blearily taking in his surroundings. Yusuke was kneeling next to him, still dressed in his Phantom Thief clothing, but with his mask cast off to the side. Morgana was nearby, Zorro fading out of existence behind him. The ceiling of the Mementos entrance platform was directly above.

"Are you all right?"

In Yusuke's tone, Yu recognized the voice he himself had often used after having to revive a fallen member of the Investigation Team: soothing calmness that almost perfectly masked concern, maybe even fear.  _ Almost. _

"I'm...fine." Yu tried to sit up, but Yusuke kept a hand on his shoulder, effectively pinning him to the ground. "What happened?"

He didn't really care, still almost longing for the darkness he had been wrested from, but figured he might as well know.

"Despair," Morgana answered. "Certain enemies can target psychological weaknesses, twisting your mind's response so that you feel like there's no possible solution. Usually, though, their hold on you lasts only as long as the enemy presence does; as soon as your surroundings allow you to relax a little bit, you can break through. I've never seen it last that long before."

Feeling irritated, Yu pushed Yusuke's hand off him. "I can sit up," he snapped, though he almost instantly regretted doing so as a wave of nausea hit him. He swallowed it down. His weakness was disgusting,  _ infuriating. _

"Well, we're all pretty much at our limits, and we're already here at the entrance. I'm calling it here for today," Akira said. "Let's go home and get some rest." A look passed between him and Morgana, and almost immediately, Morgana started ushering the others out. Ann paused at the doorway, looking back and opening her mouth to speak, but Morgana cheerfully kept her going.

"I'm fine," Yu said again, annoyance spiking again.

"Really?" Akira gave him a hard look. "Prove it. Walk out that door."

His anger got him to his feet and took him two steps forward until his knees buckled. Yusuke caught him just before he hit the floor. Akira sighed. "Look, I'm not leaving you to collapse on the floor again here in Mementos. Psychological attacks are nothing to mess with. We're getting you home, and then you can be as stubborn as you like there."

"Fine," Yu mumbled, as Yusuke shifted position so he could support part of Yu's weight. He hadn't really noticed before, but they were almost exactly the same height.

Barely anyone looked sideways at the teenagers on the train, though they did get a couple of curious looks once they got off at Yongen-jaya. Akira disappeared into Leblanc, but Yusuke helped Yu into his building and up the stairs to his apartment. Yu collapsed onto the futon, not even bothering to change clothes, as Yusuke busied himself in the kitchen.

"Why are you still here?"

The words came out sharp, harsh, and he wasn't quite sure how much of that he meant. Yusuke ignored the tone. "You're exhausted. You're going to drink some water and eat something for dinner. I don't know if I can trust you to do that on your own right now, so I'm going to stay to make sure it happens."

"I don't need someone to coddle me every time my brain does something stupid!"

"What you  _ need," _ Yusuke snapped, "is food and rest. I'm not leaving until you get that."

"It's late. You'll miss the last train."

Yusuke shrugged. "The window seat looks comfortable enough."

Sensing Yusuke would not be swayed unless he could get up and physically throw him out, Yu gave up, staring up at the ceiling, ignoring the sounds coming from the kitchen where Yusuke was presumably preparing something that he would then make Yu eat.

The next thing he knew, a hand was gently shaking him awake. He turned away from it, weakly swatting at it when the movement didn’t stop. "No," he mumbled.

"You can go back to sleep after you eat."

The shaking was gentle, but insistent. Yu gave up trying to out-stubborn Yusuke, sitting up and crossing his legs. Yusuke handed him a bowl of ramen and some chopsticks before sitting down next to him with his own bowl of noodles.

"I don't want to talk."

"That's fine."

The silence stretched on, uncomfortable even though it was of his own making. Frustrated with the inconsistency of his emotions, Yu focused on his food. It was simple, but expertly made; despite his irregular eating habits, Yusuke was apparently a reasonably skilled cook. It was one of the few meals Yu could remember actually  _ tasting _ in awhile. Begrudgingly, he broke the silence. "It's good."

Yusuke smiled, ducking his head almost shyly. "I -- I'm glad you like it." A light blush dusted his cheeks.

Watching him, Yu realized something, speaking despite himself. "You're not used to getting compliments on anything, are you?" Every time he had said something nice about anything Yusuke had done, the artist looked discomfited.

Yusuke's blush deepened. "Not so much," he admitted. "Sensei -- Madarame -- had little time and even less interest in anything that could not contribute to his fame, and I'm not blind to the fact that most of the other students think I'm too strange to bother with."

"They're missing out. Sure, you're weird, but we're all weird in our own ways. I like your particular brand of weird."

"Thanks." Yusuke chuckled, still looking embarrassed.

Silence fell between them again, pleasant this time instead of tense. Yu's earlier anger had dulled, and he couldn't deny that Yusuke's continued presence was nice. He looked down at his bowl. "I never really had friends before I moved to Inaba," he said quietly. "My parents had me on accident. I was an inconvenience at best. They always preferred working, and they moved wherever their jobs took them. When my mother got a year-long assignment in Ireland, there was never a second thought. I'm not sure what would have happened if my uncle hadn't been able to take me in. They had lost touch with most of the other family."

He wasn't sure why he had started talking, but now that he had, he couldn't stop. "Inaba was everything I had dreamed of. Dojima had his flaws, for sure, but he was at least  _ trying _ to be a father for me and Nanako. I had friends -- actual, true friends who cared about me beyond me being 'the transfer student'. We went through hell together to try to save that little town. They all had their reasons, their little piece that made them fight, and I loved them all for it. Chie and Yukiko fought for each other. Naoto fought for the truth. Kanji and Rise fought because they thought it was right. And Yosuke..."

When had he started crying? He wiped his eyes roughly, readjusting his glasses when he knocked them askew. "We were partners. He knew me better than anyone. When we fought Izanami, he was leading as much as I was. I'll never forget his face as Izanami's spell killed him. Like he still believed in me. Believed that I would  _ fix _ everything. And instead I ended up in the trash in Tokyo and they're all still dead. Even their memories are dead to everyone who knew them. And when that Despair spell hit me today, that's what I saw, those last moments in Yomotsu Hirasaka. Those friends getting taken from me, one by one. And at the end, there was just  _ nothing _ . All I wanted to do was become that nothing."

"You  _ did." _ Yusuke's voice wavered, and Yu looked up to see him blinking back tears. "Normally Despair only lasts until the effects of the battle have worn off. The victim is still weak -- a psychological attack like that also saps your strength -- but they're alive. You  _ would not wake. _ Akira took us back to the entrance with a Goho-M, but even away from any Shadow influence you were still...dead. At first I didn't even think the revival bead had worked."

"I remember you grabbing my arm. That's the first thing I remember after -- " he was going to say 'passing out', but that apparently wasn't quite accurate -- "after...dying."

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him and he leaned back against the wall. "Will you let me sleep now?" he mumbled, without heat.

He barely heard Yusuke's response, already nodding off. He vaguely registered Yusuke shifting him into a more comfortable position and gently pulling a blanket over him. Cool fingertips brushed his cheek, lingering there as he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To explain my headcanon: the Wild Cards all have an inherent weakness to or strength against certain status effects, separate from whatever Persona they might have equipped, because of events that have happened in their pasts or their personalities.
> 
> Minato, at least as portrayed in the first couple of P3 movies, would be resistant to Fear because he has nothing to lose and therefore nothing to fear (or once he actually realizes he has people worth caring about, because he's not afraid of what he has to do to protect them). There's no Forget status effect in P3, but he would be weak to it because he's prone to not really committing to memory things he doesn't care about. 
> 
> Akira is resistant to Brainwash; he's always been a smart kid, and he spent a lot of time during his assault trial making sure he absolutely knew everything that was happening even in the face of all the gaslighting Shido's lackeys were throwing at him. He's weak to Sleep because despite Morgana's best efforts, he routinely has insomnia and also tries to do a lot of things during the day so he's always tired.
> 
> Yu realized early on that anger (or tantrums, as a small child) didn't get him anywhere, so he's usually able to direct that into more productive paths, giving him resistance to Rage. Because of the lonely childhood he had, always feeling like whatever roots he attempted to make would be pulled up at the end of the school year, he was always somewhat prone to Despair; the trauma of losing his friends at the beginning of this story very deeply cemented that weakness.


	9. Sunlight

Mementos became a frustrating experience after Yu's Despair-induced death. Unwilling to risk a repeat of what had happened, Akira kept him sidelined while they worked through their next list of targets, and while he understood the reasoning, it was still immensely frustrating to spend his time stuck in the back. He gritted his teeth, cursing Izanami for perhaps the millionth time.

When they emerged, the late afternoon sun was streaming through the windows. "It's so beautiful outside," Ann exclaimed. "You know, we should do something fun before we go back to school!"

"Dude, don't remind me about going back to frickin' school," Sakamoto moaned, and Akira rolled his eyes with a smile.

"That does sound like a good idea," Makoto said. "It would be good to take some time to unwind. What did you have in mind?"

"How about the beach?" Ann suggested.

This was swiftly and unanimously agreed upon, and Ann was practically bouncing up and down. "It's settled, then! Why don't we go tomorrow?"

And so the next day found them all at Miura Beach. The boys staked out an area for their stuff while the girls changed, and Sakamoto flopped down on his towel. "Soooo," he drawled, in a faintly lecherous tone. "Who do you think is gonna look the hottest in a bathing suit?"

"You know I'm not going to answer that," Akira said flatly, pulling out the sunscreen.

"Lady Ann is beautiful in both body and soul," Morgana said, feline eyes gazing distantly out across the ocean.

"It doesn't affect me, and I have no opinion to boost your vulgar fantasies," Yusuke said in a disinterested tone. "All of the Phantom Thieves would make excellent subjects for art, were they willing to pose."

"I care more about who people are instead of what they look like," Yu finally said, to get Sakamoto to stop staring expectantly at him. He wasn't particularly interested in getting into details.

"Aww. You're all buzzkills."

When the girls finally emerged in their bathing suits, it didn't take long for Ann to hit Sakamoto upside the head for ogling her, and Futaba shrieked and ran for the water to hide as quickly as possible. Akira disappeared after Futaba, leaving Makoto to handle the bickering blondes. Yusuke gave Yu a look that screamed _please let's leave_ and Yu was only too happy to oblige.

As they walked down the beach, Yusuke kept glancing at him, until Yu finally turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Sorry." Yusuke stared at his feet. "It's...none of my business."

"What? I can always not answer whatever it is if I don't want to."

"Do you really not care what someone looks like?"

"Oh, that. I mean, I appreciate good looks, but it's not the first thing I look for. I want to connect with them as a person. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's really what's inside that I'm attracted to. Not their gender, or their looks, or anything like that. I have feelings for  _ people _ , not for how the bedroom experience might be."

Well, he hadn't started the day with the intention of outing himself as pansexual, but as he had somewhat suspected, Yusuke didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "I appreciate good looks from an aesthetic standpoint, but I can't say I've previously been attracted to anyone on a deeper level."

"Not even a crush?"

"It really hadn't been something I thought about. The girls in my art classes kept trying to set me up with their friends. One of them even started trying to get me to go out with a male friend of hers, which I thought was surprisingly progressive of her."

"Did that bother you?"

"What bothered me was the insistence that I  _ needed _ a partner of some sort to be complete. And babies." Yusuke wrinkled his nose. "The longest discussion I have ever had the misfortune of having with one of my classmates was about how adorable children of mine would be."

"So, no partner, no kids. Got it."

"I...wouldn't rule out a partner anymore," Yusuke said carefully. "I just...don't have a lot of interest in...you know."

"The act Sakamoto is constantly thinking about whenever there's a girl within fifty meters of him?"

"Now that mental image is in my head. I could have lived an entire lifetime without that, thank you."

"Anytime." One word had caught Yu's attention, and though he wasn't fully sure if he wanted to pursue this line of inquiry, he still fumbled ahead. "Wouldn't rule it out 'anymore'? Did...something happen recently to change your mind?"

Yusuke's lips parted and his eyes darted away suddenly as they both stopped walking. "I -- "

_ "There _ you two are!"

Yu felt annoyance flash across his face as Sakamoto's voice cut through their conversation. Makoto was trailing behind him, looking like she was regretting this beach trip. “C’mon, let’s get in the water!” Sakamoto said enthusiastically, throwing his arms around each of their shoulders.

"Personal space, please," Yusuke said, flinching at the sudden contact and shrugging the arm off. "Did Ann get tired of you?"

"Eh, something like that. Wasn't paying much attention once she stopped trying to hit me."

Behind him, Makoto raised her hands in a choking gesture, mouthing the words  _ I will kill you _ before schooling her face into her prim and proper student council president expression. "It  _ is _ kind of warm out here, don't you think? Let's catch up with Akira and Futaba-chan."

She all but dragged them along, back towards the others. Yusuke was still avoiding making eye contact, face flushed just a little too much for it to be just from the heat.  _ He must've guessed, but there's probably somebody else he's thinking about, it's not me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Should've just left well enough alone. _

Yu shoved that into the corner with the rest of his darkness and threw himself into pretending to have a good time with the others.

* * *

October arrived, with its crisp fall air. Everyone had their heads down after the disaster that had been Okumura's Palace. Even Sakamoto was subdued when the Phantom Thieves met up, and everyone focused with single-minded determination as they spent more time in Mementos than ever. Even the nauseating aura of the lower floors was better than feeling the near-universal air of scorn from the general public in the real world. No one knew that they were the Phantom Thieves, but the vitriol that was spewed around them weighed heavily on them as they went about their daily lives.

Yu was again in the rotation; psychic attacks were less common now that they were fighting a different set of Shadows, and he was starting to recover faster from the debilitating fog when one did hit him. It didn't escape his notice that Akira, who had previously always paired him with Yusuke, had recently started pulling him in alongside Ann instead; despite his efforts to keep his stupid feelings shoved away into the darkness, he had clearly not managed to hide it from Akira's perceptive eyes.

Outside the Metaverse, though, it was almost as if their conversation on the beach had never happened. Yusuke had become a fairly constant presence in Yu's life, though more often now he was either doing homework or sketching inanimate objects instead of asking Yu to pose for him.  _ Probably because he found a new model. _ Yu pretended that nothing was amiss, pretended that he didn't miss being the center of Yusuke's attention as he sketched, because it was  _ stupid. _

One afternoon when Yusuke was over, music played softly through the speakers of the old laptop Yu had acquired, a CD of calming instrumental music he had bought from the secondhand shop down the street providing the soundtrack as he busied himself with making some infiltration tools. After some serious cajoling by Akira, Morgana had finally begrudgingly taught Yu how to make some of the elemental damage tools they often used in battle, conceding that since they had more raw materials than Akira had time, it would make sense to have another person help out.

When he had finished with that, he started cleaning, more to give himself something else to do while Yusuke was still drawing than out of need. The small apartment didn't take long to clean, and he found himself eyeing the window critically at the end of it. "Hey, I'm going to clean that window, can you move for a bit?"

Yusuke absently held up his left hand in a 'wait' gesture as he finished whatever it was he was working on, before closing his sketchbook and carefully extricating himself from the pillows. Instead, he settled himself on the futon, arm slung around one leg bent in front of him as he closed his eyes against the sun.

Carefully, Yu disengaged the lower pane of the window, reaching outside to clean the worst of the grime off. He couldn't help but glance back at the other boy, bathed in sunlight with a smile on his face. Yu definitely was  _ not blushing _ as he turned back to the window, scrubbing it with more vigor than was called for. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yusuke open his eyes, raising a hand to shade them against the sun.

It might have been his imagination, but he thought the apartment seemed just a little brighter, with the late afternoon sun streaming through the newly-cleaned window. Feeling satisfied, Yu washed out the cleaning cloth, hanging it to dry before sitting down next to Yusuke, who turned his head away from the light, dropping the hand that had been blocking the sunlight. "Done cleaning?"

"Done enough. I think cleaning the window really helped. It seems brighter in here now."

"Blinding."

"Look, it isn't my fault you sat right where the sun was coming in."

"You cleaned my shade off the window."

They both laughed. "I'm surprised you're not still drawing."

"I don't know. I just felt like watching you."

That sentence  _ shouldn’t _ have caused a swooping feeling somewhere in Yu's stomach, but it certainly  _ did. _ "I didn't think I was doing anything that interesting."

"Sometimes I just want to observe." Yusuke tilted his head slightly, looking slightly confused. "You're not wearing your glasses."

"Oh. Right." For whatever reason, he had been feeling less and less like wearing the glasses when he wasn't at school or in the Metaverse. "Just didn't put them on today."

He was suddenly conscious of how close they were as their eyes met. The way Yusuke was looking at him was not his usual artist's stare; his darkened gray eyes looked  _ into _ Yu's, instead of merely  _ at _ them, and rational thought flew his mind. Without consciously deciding, Yu leaned forward just enough.

Sparks met snow as Yusuke gasped just a little against his lips, even that small inhale enough to startle Yu back to his senses and he pulled away, eyes wide at what he'd done as he scrambled to put space between them. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that -- I -- you're -- I know you had someone you met, and I just -- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I -- "

"I...liked it." Yusuke looked dazed.

" -- I won't do it again, I -- wait, what?"

"I liked it," Yusuke repeated, looking surprised at his own words. Tentatively, he raised his hands, hesitating for a moment before bringing them up to rest his palms on either side of Yu's face. "Someone I had met...You mean what we were talking about on the beach?"

Yu nodded dumbly.

"The person I met was  _ you." _

Yu blinked, once, twice, half expecting to wake up from this dream at any moment, before tentatively reaching up to place his hand on one of Yusuke's. The light from the setting sun fell gently on the artist, highlighting his dark hair with hues of red and orange as his gaze fluttered nervously downward for a moment.

Not wanting to push Yusuke into anything more potentially uncomfortable, instead of kissing him again like he so desperately wanted, Yu pulled him into an embrace, breathing in the faint scent of his shampoo, closing his eyes in relief when he felt arms closing around him in return.

When they finally separated again, Yu searched the other's eyes. "Is -- is this actually okay?" Yu asked, voice lower than he had intended. "I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with...I've never -- well, I've never even known another asexual person, let alone had -- feelings for one."

"I trust you." The words were simple, but the soft expression on Yusuke's face said so much more.

Yu's chest suddenly tightened, a wave of emotion crescendoing to a point and stabbing him so hard he looked away in physical pain. He didn't deserve this, not after failing in Inaba, not after letting his friends die, and Yusuke didn't deserve to be in a position where whatever god manipulating things next decided that Yu needed to be punished for failing, and suddenly the world was white around him with red tiles underneath him --

"Yu."

The fog parted just enough for him to feel Yusuke pulling him back into an embrace, one hand gently stroking his hair, grounding him to where he was, to the feel of the futon beneath him, the light scent of Yusuke's hair. "Sorry," he mumbled brokenly.

He felt Yusuke shake his head, breath coming out in a soft sigh. "I wish I could help you."

"You are." The whirling feeling of panic was slowly subsiding. "I just wish this would stop happening."

He had no memory of falling asleep, just of waking up with his head on Yusuke's chest and a light blanket covering the two of them. Yusuke's breathing was slow and even, one arm loosely wrapped around Yu as he slept. Feeling calmer than he had in months, Yu closed his eyes again, letting the rhythm of Yusuke's heartbeat lull him back to sleep.

* * *

"So you've returned, Inmate." Caroline slammed her baton against the bars in her traditional greeting.

Yu didn't even flinch at the sound anymore. "Tell me, do conversations between the two of you ever get confusing? Is it 'Inmate' and 'Other Inmate'? Or 'Inmate, not that one, the other one'?"

Justine giggled into her hand while Caroline looked positively ready to blow a gasket. "We have our own ways of differentiating between the two of you when we speak to each other," Justine said calmly.

"We  _ would, _ if we ever talked about you, which we  _ don't!" _

"Uh-huh. Sure." Yu chuckled, flipping through the Compendium to look for Personas that were resistant to Bless and Curse skills. One agonizing death to blinding white tarot cards paper-cutting him to pieces in an instant was enough.

_ "Whatever. _ We shouldn't even give you this gift if you're going to be this insolent."

"Hm?" Yu looked up from the Compendium to see smiles on both the twins' faces: Justine's a gentle smile that looked like a mixture of happiness and pride, Caroline's a smirk that poorly hid a genuine glee.

"As a gift honoring the strength of your bond with the Emperor," Justine said, "our master has given us permission to bestow upon you the Persona of King Frost." The pages of the Compendium turned of their own accord to a previously-blank page, where an artfully-drawn rendition of the regal, portly Persona appeared. "May it serve you well."

As the entry appeared in the Compendium, Yu felt its presence in his mind, gleefully cackling about freezing his enemies to death before joining his other Personas in relative silence. "Thank you," he said honestly. "I'll do my best to make this gift useful."

"You'd better, Inmate!"

He went back to his work looking through the Compendium when something registered in his mind. All the Personas that were available to him were for arcana related to people he had formed relationships with since his arrival in Tokyo, and he had made careful mental notes of who was who, so how was Power in this list? No one he knew personified the Justice arcana.

"You look troubled," Justine noted.

Yu felt a frown creasing his forehead. "This just...it doesn't make any sense." He flipped back a few pages, and sure enough, there were Angel, Archangel, and Principality, as well. "I thought my power to summon or control Personas was limited to arcana I've formed a new contract with?"

"That was our understanding, as well -- have you found something that causes you to question this?"

Yu pointed at one of the Justice Personas. "I don't have a contract for this arcana."

Caroline and Justine both looked mystified.

"Has this been here the whole time?" he mused aloud. "No, I'm not that stupid. This just appeared this time. But -- "

He shut his mouth. For as much help as the Velvet Room and its occupants were, he had never been quite sure how exactly they came to be or what their goal was, and the differences between the Metaverse's Igor and the TV world's Igor were unsettling enough that he didn't want to vocalize anything that he wasn't fully sure he wanted to be known, so instead he shrugged. "I must be misremembering things."

"Better not be going crazy on us, Inmate," Caroline said. "We can't rehabilitate an insane person. That's out of our pay grade."

Yu raised his eyebrows. "I communicate with you by willingly walking through a door that only Joker and I can see, to imprison myself in a cell where I get verbally harangued every time I appear, somewhere 'in between mind and matter', to summon different personalities, at least one of which looks suspiciously like a penis driving a chariot, while anyone who sees me in the real world thinks I'm staring blankly into space. I meet every definition for colloquial insanity and probably several for an actual clinical diagnosis."

Caroline huffed.


	10. The Detective Prince

Yu stood up, massaging his forearm after scrubbing a particularly stubborn bit of sticky spilled cola off the lobby floor. "I think that's the last of it."

"Thank goodness." Sachiko sat down heavily on a nearby bench. "College students, with their parties, and lack of awareness, and..." She continued muttering a diatribe about the group that had just left a tornado of concession destruction in their wake. "Thank you for staying to help with the cleanup, Yu-kun."

"Of course. It's not a school night, so it wasn't a problem at all."

"Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow? The theater is closed so we'll both be home, and we haven't had a chance to properly talk to you for a bit. You could even bring your boyfriend," she added, a sly twinkle in her eye.

"My b -- how did you know?"

The twinkle turned into a pleased glint. "I guessed, but you just confirmed it. I've seen the two of you walking around together a lot. He's quite a good-looking young man."

Yu grinned. There was no point trying to hide it. "He sure is."

Once he got back to his apartment, he texted Yusuke to ask if he'd come for dinner tomorrow, and Yusuke readily agreed -- probably swayed as much by the food as anything else, Yu thought fondly, as he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Dinnertime the next day found the two of them walking towards the Kimuras' house. Yusuke was walking more slowly than usual, brushing his fingers through his hair every few steps and glancing around, before Yu stopped in the shadows between streetlights. "Are you okay, Yusuke?"

"Truth be told, I am rather apprehensive. I know I often don't make a good first impression with people, and they've been so generous to you; I don't want to mess anything up for you."

Yu couldn't help the smile on his face as he gazed at Yusuke. "I don't think you need to worry about that. You're quite charming unless you're trying very hard not to be. Just don't insult the fine china display and you'll be fine."

Yusuke looked unconvinced for a moment, then laughed. "I believe you may be a biased observer."

"That doesn't make me wrong." Yu offered his hand, palm up. "Shall we go?"

Yusuke's face was hidden by the dim lighting, but Yu could picture the exact shade of pink that it was turning as he delicately placed his own hand in Yu's and they resumed walking.

Sachiko answered the door with a warm smile on her face. "You're just in time. Hiroshi is just putting the finishing touches on dinner." Her smile widened as she looked at Yusuke. "Ah, you must be Yusuke-kun!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kimura-san." Yusuke bowed formally and she waved him away.

"None of that, now. Sachiko is fine. Come, come in and sit down."

"So, how did the two of you meet?" she asked, once they had all sat down and started eating.

"We both happened to be at Leblanc at the same time," Yusuke answered. "I asked if he would consent to model for me and he agreed."

"You're an artist, then?"

"Yes. My style tends more to the abstract, but I often sketch portraits as a way to capture moments that evoke strong emotions."

"You must have a lot of sketches of Yu-kun, then."

Yu expected Yusuke to be embarrassed, but instead a dreamy, faraway look settled on his face. "In fact, I do."

Yu ducked his head to hide the stupid grin spreading across his face.

Dinner proceeded in this manner, and as they talked, Yu felt more at ease than he had ever been at a dinner with any non-Dojima relatives, talking and laughing until dessert was done and the two boys insisted on doing the dishes while the Kimuras sipped on a bit of sake. "That was nice," Yusuke said, carefully drying the plates as Yu handed them to him after washing.

"You're just saying that because Sachiko-san let you talk about your painting the whole time."

"On the contrary, I talked about _you_ far more than my painting."

Yu bumped his shoulder affectionately. "How are you so adorable?"

Yusuke's face turned bright red.  _ "Stop," _ he moaned, and it was the closest thing to a whine that Yu had ever heard come out of his mouth. Yu tried to smirk but couldn't help the snort of laughter that came out instead. "You are absolutely insufferable."

"You seem to suffer me pretty well."

Yusuke covered his face with the dish towel.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Yu said incredulously. "You want us to work with  _ Akechi Goro?" _

"And you think he wants to  _ kill _ you?" Ann gasped.

Akira lounged on the bed, letting the manga he was reading hang loosely from his fingertips over the edge of the bed. "Sure thing," he said easily. "He's onto us already, and I'm pretty sure he's convinced that I, personally, am the only thing holding this group together. Which is ridiculous, by the way; everyone knows it's Morgana."

Morgana preened. "Akechi's smart, but he's also very overconfident. All we have to do is make him think he's managed to take our leader out and he's not going to look too closely."

"We've been talking about it a lot," Makoto said seriously, "and while this plan has a lot of moving parts, it's definitely feasible. I believe Akechi is going to try to engineer a meeting with us before long; why not play into his hands and let him think he's getting exactly what he wants?"

"I've already coded up a bug to plant on Akechi's phone," Futaba chirped. "All I have to do is get my hands on his phone for, like, five seconds."

"We'll have to welcome him into the Phantom Thieves for a few weeks, of course," Akira noted dispassionately. "We won't be telling him anything he doesn't already know; he's already been sneaking around Palaces after us, so he knows our methods."

_...We're now joined by Akechi Goro, hailed by many as the second coming of the Detective Prince... _

The voice of the newscaster echoed through Yu's mind as he tried not to openly revolt against the plan that Makoto, Akira, and Futaba were detailing. Work  _ with _ Akechi? He'd rather cut off his own hands.

" -- at our school assembly. There's no way he would say no to such an opportunity." Makoto was talking again.

“This is a very risky strategy," Yusuke said, voice serious. "While Akechi  _ does _ have an idea of what we do, he does not have all the specifics. He would learn a great deal about us during those weeks, no matter how careful we are. He may well learn something that we don't even realize is a problem until too late."

"And if even  _ one thing _ goes wrong during the heist in Niijima-san's Palace, you'll literally  _ die, _ Akira," Ann said, foot jiggling rapidly and face pale.

"I know," Akira said, and there was something in his voice that quieted all of them and stilled Ann's foot. "But if there are any people I would trust my actual life to, it's all of you." He looked around at the group. "It has to be a unanimous decision, though. You've heard the plan, you know the risks. Morgana?"

"Of course we can pull it off. I'm in."

"Ryuji?"

"Can't say I'm excited about workin' with the bastard, but we'll get him eventually. I'm in."

"Ann?"

Ann looked at her feet. "Come back to me in a bit," she implored.

"Yusuke?"

Yu felt, rather than saw, Yusuke's eyes flicker to him for a moment as he answered. "I will support it if everyone else does."

"Yu?"

Yu grit his teeth. "I don't know if I'm actually capable of working with Akechi." The name was sour in his mouth. "Jumped-up Detective Prince wannabe," he added under his breath.

"...Oh." Akira's gaze was on him, and when he looked up, he saw a flash of understanding in their leader's eyes. "We would need to have two separate teams, anyway. Akechi would be with me, and it would make the most sense to have you lead the other team, with your Wild Card abilities. I can't make any promises about time outside the Metaverse, but I can promise you wouldn't have to fight alongside him in the Palace or Mementos. Would that be enough?"

Yu scuffed his foot on the attic floor. "Yeah," he agreed reluctantly. "Can't really let my personal dislike of the guy ruin the plan."

Akira waited a moment, then nodded. "Makoto?"

"Of course. I came up with the plan, after all."

"Futaba?"

"I don't like that you might die, but I think we can do it. Yeah. I can't wait to bug his phone."

"Haru?"

Okumura Haru was the sweetest looking girl Yu had seen in Tokyo, but right now her gaze could cut through steel. "I would like nothing more."

"Back to Ann?"

Ann blew out a breath. "I'm not excited about it, but it does seem like it's our best option."

"Yusuke -- does your earlier vote still stand?"

"Yes, Akira."

There wasn't much to talk about after that, so they soon disbanded into the cold night air. Yusuke hung back a little as Yu put his hands in his pockets for warmth. "Will you be okay with this?" he questioned.

"It's like I said. I really don't like him. I hate that he's taken Naoto's moniker and is disrespecting it the way he is. I'd rather eat nothing but mealworms and stale crackers for a month than work with him. But when it comes down to it, this isn't about him, it's not about Naoto, and it's not about me. This is our best chance to get heat off us and try to figure out who's actually behind all this."

Yusuke sighed, the puff of his breath just visible in the air as his hand rested low on Yu's arm, just above his wrist. Despite everything going on, the gesture still sent butterflies swooping through Yu's chest. "I just hate that you have to make yet another sacrifice for this." He tilted his head in confusion, almost like a dog. "Why are you smiling?"

Yu pulled his other hand out of his pocket and laid it on top of Yusuke's. "I'm still not used to this."

Yusuke's bangs fell forward, obscuring his left eye, as he looked down at their hands, a smile gracing his own features. "I never imagined feeling comfortable enough with another person for this."

They stayed like that for what could have been seconds or years, before Yusuke reluctantly pulled away. "I should catch the train back to the dorms."

"If you must."

"Sadly, I must. Good night, Yu."

"Good night, Yusuke."


	11. Yu and Inari

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: violence, temporary character death, mild sexual humor.

A lot was riding on this dungeon. If they didn't pull off everything perfectly, there was an exceedingly high chance that they would all be arrested...or killed.

The casino atmosphere seemed to excite Sakamoto to an annoying degree, as he kept trying to derail them to play the various games and slot machines. From his place in the reserve group, Yu could see Makoto's fists slowly clenching and unclenching every time Sakamoto spoke, but she did an admirable job shelving that frustration and focusing on the job at hand.

The flashing lights and sounds of gambling were putting most of the rest of the team on edge, though. Even Akira was tense, though he hid it passably well behind Joker's confident aura. Only Akechi seemed completely unfazed by the palace, directing his Persona with the cool air of someone viewing themselves as above what was going on.

"Can you get a reading on that Shadow ahead, Oracle?" Akira murmured from his hiding place.

"One sec." Futaba stared straight ahead, her fingertips moving over a control panel that only she could see or interact with. "Mm...it's a new one, but it looks like it's weak to ice. Can't tell anything about its attacks from here, though."

"All right." Akira scanned the party. "Queen and Crow, swap out for Spark and Fox."

They traded places. Yu distracted himself from Akechi's presence by mentally sifting through his available Personas, bringing King Frost to the forefront of his mind. Akira had kept his promise about not having Yu and Akechi fighting together, but with how dangerous the Palace had been so far, they still had to all stay close to each other for quick swaps. It was aggravating, but there were more important things to deal with.

They crept up towards the unsuspecting Shadow, using the corners of the rows of machines to hide themselves, and just as Akira leapt out of cover to surprise the Shadow, Futaba's voice echoed in their heads -- "Wait!"

But it was too late. Akira sprung back, the Shadow's mask dissolving in his hand, as the other group of Shadows that had snuck up on them attacked. Darkness swirled around Yu as one of them targeted him with Eigaon, and Morgana just narrowly dodged a punch from another one.

A blue flash lit up the area as Yusuke directed ice towards one of the Shadows, knocking it down temporarily just as a wave of some kind of psychic energy pulsed around them. Yu recognized the sensation; Wage War was intended to anger and goad its targets into attacking recklessly without regard to their own safety, but he found the effects easy to shrug off. He had never been prone to anger without a clear cause, and since he knew this was from a Shadow and not, say, Akechi, it didn't really faze him.

"Uh-oh." Futaba groaned. "Fox is really angry."

Yu caught a glimpse of Yusuke's eyes though his mask, the rage darkening them to almost black, as the kitsune leapt forward, katana out. King Frost's Bufudyne was more than enough to shatter the Shadow that had cast it.

"Fox! Watch out!"

Some combination of bad footing and not being able to think straight meant that instead of his katana slicing through flesh, it went wide, and Yusuke stumbled into the path of another Eigaon meant for Yu. The moment that the spell halted his movement was the moment the other Shadow needed to thrust its sword directly through Yusuke's chest, the point coming out his back before the blade was roughly yanked out.

Yusuke's katana clattered to the ground, both hands flying up to the wound even as his legs buckled beneath him. Goemon faded away as Yusuke collapsed, hands weakly clutching his chest as he struggled to draw breath. King Frost flickered out of existence as Yu watched, frozen in horror. Yusuke's arm slid to the ground as his eyes glassed over and he lay there, unmoving.

"Spark! Get your head back in the game!"

But the voice did nothing to propel him forward, even as electricity sparked through the air from Akira's Persona. Morgana squarely hit the Shadow that had killed Yusuke with a Psycho Bomb, and the duo sprang into action against the downed Shadows, finishing them off.

Akira pushed up his mask, letting his Persona dissipate as he roughly grabbed Yu's shoulders. "Narukami. This is the Metaverse. He's not actually dead. Go use a revival bead."

The use of his real name instead of his code name, coupled with Akira's grasp, was just enough to snap Yu out of the horrific trance he had been frozen in. Coming back to his senses, he fished the small, almost ethereal bead out of his pocket as he knelt down next to Yusuke, the coppery, acrid scent of blood filling his nostrils as he forced the bead down his throat.

"Why do we still keep him around?" he faintly heard Sakamoto's voice behind him. "He's a huge liability when literally anything disturbing happens."

The moment between when the bead left his fingers and when Yusuke took a shuddering breath lasted for an eternity.

"Skull." Akira's voice was sharp. "We  _ all _ have our weak points. Remember when you got yourself impaled seven times because you fell for a taunt?"

Yusuke's eyes fluttered open, the physical evidence of what had just happened to him starting to heal through whatever magic the revival beads possessed.

"That happened  _ once. _ Feels like every time we come into the damn Metaverse, we're constantly babysitting  _ him _ through whatever his tragedy of the day is."

The shame that was flooding through Yu at the sound of the conversation behind him almost threatened to push aside his relief that the revival bead had worked.

"What's your damage, Skull?" Futaba said angrily. "Just shut up. We're a  _ team, _ and that means  _ supporting our teammates." _

Morgana, seeing that Yusuke was awake, broke away from the group, summoning Zorro to bring Yusuke back to full health. "Don't mind Skull," he said under his breath. "He's just being a jackass. Something's got him bothered about everything in the world these days."

Yusuke accepted Yu's help standing up, his fingers even cold through both of their gloves.

"I'm calling it for today." Akira's voice was final, still with a sharp edge. "We're down to about half strength and we're getting into some dangerous fights. I don't want to risk failure because we're going too fast. We've still got plenty of time before Niijima-san can go through the necessary procedures to move against us. Let's rest up and come back another day."

"Are you sure, Joker?" Akechi asked, with a convincing tone of concern.

"I'm sure." Akira's response brooked no argument.

Once they were back in Shibuya, Ryuji and Akechi both immediately disappeared in opposite directions to take their trains home, while Ann, Makoto, and Haru lingered just long enough to say goodbye. Futaba suddenly smirked at Yusuke in a knowing way when he made no move to follow them. "Not going back to the dorms tonight?"

"I was just on my way," Yusuke said just a little too quickly, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"No, you weren't, Inari. You've been standing there staring at your boyfriend this whole time."

"I -- have not!"

Yusuke's flustered denial, coupled with the violent shade of crimson his face had become, was probably the most effective confession he could have made, leading both Futaba and Akira to start laughing and Yu to put his face in his hands, unsure whether to be amused or embarrassed.

Akira was the first to recover, still chuckling as he swept his messy hair back from his face. "Come on. Why don't we all go back to Leblanc? I'll make curry."

"Will Boss approve of such a double date?" Yu shot back with a grin, and this time it was Futaba's turn to blush scarlet and sputter before Akira effectively confirmed it with an arm around her.

"We'll worry about that later. Come on."

The evening was light and fun, with Futaba and Yusuke immediately getting into a spirited argument about the aesthetics of Featherman while Yu helped Akira in the cafe kitchen. "Oh man," Akira groaned, watching Futaba gesture towards her laptop screen with a pencil in hand as Yusuke tried fruitlessly to reclaim said pencil. "They're going to kill each other. Or be the death of me."

"They're just both very passionate."

"They sure are." Akira turned to the cutting board, slicing the onion with precise strokes. "It's nice to see."

The words were so quiet Yu almost didn't hear them over the sounds of "I could show you what I mean if you would simply  _ return my pencil!" _ from the corner booth. "What do you mean?"

Akira slid the chopped onions off the cutting board into the pot, picking up one of the potatoes Yu had already peeled. "You saw how Futaba was before we stole her heart. Too scared of the demons in her head to even leave her room. And now she's having a whole conversation with someone."

"Yeah."

"You didn't see Yusuke before we stole Madarame's heart," Akira said, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't hear. "He had his art, but even if he didn't realize it, he had given up on everything else. Madarame had him convinced that he needed to stay cooped up in that shack with him or he would never get anywhere in the art world. If he'd stayed there...I think the way he was living there would have either outright killed him or driven him to suicide. To be able to bounce back from that..." Akira sighed and started slicing another potato. "They might be the strongest people I know."

"Hey!" Morgana yelled. "No using me as a human shield!"

"I'm using you as a kitty shield, goofus!"

"I am  _ not _ a cat!"

"Ugh, just sit there and let Inari draw you so that he'll just sit there in his wrongness and be wrong!"

Somehow, they made it to dinner without any casualties. Yu sat down in the booth next to Yusuke, across from Futaba and Akira, and inwardly marveled at how comfortable this was. Akira had even stacked some books up on a stool next to the table so Morgana could sit with them. He lapped up his own food in record time and then loudly declared to no one that he was going to go for a walk, leaving the four teenagers to their own devices.

"So," Futaba said, stretching her arms above her head after pushing her empty plate forward slightly, "what do you think about the new  _ Admission Possible _ movie?"

Akira was apparently the only other person who had seen any of the previous movies in that series, so as the two of them talked, Yu kind of zoned out for a moment. A gentle touch brought him out of his reverie, as Yusuke tentatively overlapped his pinky over Yu's on the booth seat, smiling shyly.

Akira stifled a yawn as the conversation lulled, and Yu glanced over at Yusuke. "It's past midnight. We should probably get going."

Futaba checked her watch. "Oh, yeah, I should probably bounce, too, before Sojiro shows up here with a katana or something. Thanks for dinner, Akira."

Akira gently patted her head, and Yu thought he saw the smaller girl shiver just a little as a smile blossomed over her face. "Sounds good. I'm glad you all could be here."

Yusuke sighed as they stepped out of the cafe into the cold night air. "I was unaware it had become so late. I missed the last train back to the dorms."

"I...kind of forgot you needed to take the train," Yu said sheepishly. "You can sleep over."

The poor lighting from the street lamp made it hard to tell, but he thought Yusuke turned a little red. "You don't really have any spare bedding," he pointed out.

"We've already shared the futon once. Or you told me once the window seat looked comfortable." Yu summoned his best smile, trying to channel his inner Ann-at-the-Underground-Mall.

Yusuke relented. "As always, you make an irrefutable argument."

"If I'm going to argue, I try to make it worth the effort."

Yu unlocked the door to his apartment and led the way in, hanging up his keys on a hook and placing his shoes in their little cubby. "I've got some spare clothes you can sleep in," he said, rummaging through his closet and finding the sleep shirt and knit pants he had fortunately just washed the day before.

"Thank you."

Yusuke disappeared into the bathroom to change, and Yu quickly threw on his own pajamas before flicking off the light and sitting down on the window seat, idly scrolling through his phone.

When Yusuke emerged, he seemed surprised that the lights were off. "No longer felt like seeing?"

"There's plenty of light coming in from the streetlights and the moon. It just felt more peaceful this way."

Yusuke sat down next to him, close enough that their arms brushed together. "It is nice." The moon lit up his face as he looked over at Yu, glance and smile both almost impossibly soft and delicate. "I'm happy to spend time with you."

Gently, he picked up Yu's hand, entwining their fingers together before suddenly looking away, a section of dark hair falling down to obscure his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I, ah, merely..."

He trailed off, but his fingers tightened just a little around Yu's hand. Turning slightly so he could reach, Yu pushed the stray hair behind Yusuke's ear. "You can tell me, Yusuke."

"I...don't know if I'm ready to, yet."

"Then you don't have to. I won't be upset."

"Really?"

The single-word response was so un-Yusuke-like that Yu let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "What, do you  _ want _ me to be upset with you?"

"No, of course not." Yusuke's grip tightened almost imperceptibly again as he breathed in, as if steeling himself. "May I...kiss you?"

Whatever it was Yu had been expecting, it was definitely not that. He nodded, suddenly unable to find his voice, and this time it was Yusuke reaching out to push hair behind his ear. Those long fingers stayed gently threaded into his hair as Yusuke brushed his lips against Yu's, once, twice, three times, the coolness from his icy Persona making Yu's whole face tingle.

The moonlight perfectly illuminated him as he drew away, that shy half-smile on his face. Slowly, giving Yusuke the opportunity to stop him if he wanted, Yu pulled him closer, kissing him once more before slipping his arms fully around him, resting his face on the artist's shoulder, unable to resist pressing his lips to the base of his neck. Yusuke trembled slightly, but returned the embrace without hesitation. "This is...nice."

"You sound surprised."

Yusuke shifted slightly, resting his cheek on Yu's head. "My mother died when I was three. Sen --  _ Madarame _ \-- did not value any sort of physical affection, telling his students that if we sought out worldly pleasures, it would dull our senses for art. Even were it not for that, I have always had a reputation for being a bit strange. Before the Phantom Thieves, no one made an effort even to befriend me, let alone anything more."

Yusuke's voice was still steady, his breathing even, but the spot of hot wetness on Yu's scalp next to where Yusuke's cheek rested betrayed his tears.

"I don't know if I would have wanted it then, to be honest. When you kissed me the first time...I didn't know how to feel, for a moment. I knew you were closer to me than anyone, and I had noticed a difference in how I felt when I was around you, but I still -- I don't think I truly realized what that could mean. Even now -- "

He trailed off.

"I'm sorry. Art has always come more easily to me than words."

"You don't have to apologize, Yusuke."

A fidget. The silence changed character, weighing just a little heavier.

"Are you sure you're happy?"

"What?" Yu raised his head to look confusedly at Yusuke, who was once again staring off to the side at the floor.

"You know what I am. Are you sure you would be happy with someone like me?"

Yu frowned. "I don’t -- oh." Understanding suddenly dawned. "Are you talking about your sexuality?"

"Well -- lack thereof."

"Look, I can't always promise I'll instinctively know where your boundaries are. But I'm perfectly happy with whatever you want, and you can tell me to stop if I cross a line."

Yusuke made a noise of disbelief.

"Yusuke, if I really want a sexual experience, I have two hands."

Yusuke dropped his arms from around Yu so he could cover his own face, laughing embarrassedly as scarlet flooded his cheeks. "You're quite blunt when you want to be," he noted between his hands.

Yu grinned, nudging Yusuke with his shoulder. "When the situation calls for it." He covered the yawn that escaped. "It's late. Would you be okay with sharing the futon? Otherwise I can take the window seat."

"No, that's fine." Yusuke's blush hadn't fully faded, but he nodded.

Yu crawled under the blanket, scooting over so there was space for Yusuke on the futon. Yusuke lay down next to him, shifting around for a moment before coming to an apparent decision. Yu's arms closed instinctively around him as he lay his head on Yu's chest, dark hair again falling into his eyes. One hand lay pressed above Yu's heart.

Yu sleepily moved one hand up to Yusuke's hair, absently carding it between his fingers, feeling Yusuke's breathing even out before he, too, fell asleep.

* * *

"Yo, Narukami."

"Eh?"

Yu barely looked up from the textbooks and library books that he had spread out over the table, still looking for a particular point he wanted to emphasize. Futaba had slid into the seat across from him, both hands cradling a cup of some kind of hot beverage. Cocoa, probably, based on the scent. "You look kind of occupied."

"I've got a major paper that's due soon. And entrance exams are in January."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you're a third-year. Any idea where you want to go?"

"I know where I'd  _ like _ to go..."

"Which is...?" Futaba prompted, when he trailed off.

"University of Tokyo. They've got a good psychology program."

"Damn, that's like the top school in the country."

"I know. And my grades  _ should _ be good enough, provided I can score highly on the Center Test and the university exam."

"You're still worried."

"A little." He sighed, running his finger down the index of the book he was looking at. "Originally, I was going to go to school closer to Inaba. I could have gone back to stay with my uncle and cousin, or maybe gotten an apartment with a friend if he decided to go to college as well. But now..."

"You've built a new life here in Tokyo."

"Something like that."

Futaba sipped her hot cocoa, the steam briefly fogging up her glasses. "So...you and Inari, huh?"

Yu laid his pencil down, resting his cheeks on his hands, resigning himself to taking a break from studying. "What about us?"

"You really like him, don't you?"

"What brought this on?"

Futaba squirmed, clearly embarrassed. "I guess I just wanted to hear how someone else who...liked someone else...felt?" She was speaking quietly, barely audible over the sounds from the TV in the corner, and he guessed that she was trying to keep Sakura from overhearing. "I know I'm sheltered, and don't have any experience, and part of me is worried that maybe I just  _ think _ I like Akira because he saved me through the Metaverse? Or because he was the first person who really tried to get to know me besides Sojiro? And then I get all nervous, and I start doubting things, and then I wonder why  _ he _ would like  _ me _ when he's got a real-life model, an honor student, and a corporate heiress with him too, and -- "

"Futaba? Breathe," Yu interrupted. Futaba had started rocking back and forth, curling up into herself defensively. She froze, then slowly relaxed, like a turtle poking its head out of its shell. He thought for a moment, eyes wandering to the light fixture on the wall. "It's different for different people, of course, but for me...the first time I met Yusuke, I felt like he could see me for who I was, not whatever walls I had built. That feeling just solidified the more we got to know each other. And now...I feel happy when he's around. Like something I didn't even know was missing came to me."

"And you get this dopey little grin on your face when you talk about him."

"Way to kill the mood, Futaba."

She laughed, looking much more at ease. "Thanks, Narukami. When you talk about Inari, you look like I feel when I think about Akira. I feel better now."

"Want to return the favor by helping me study?"

"Would you look at the time, I have to go be literally anywhere else."

"You're the worst."

"Not like I could actually help you anyway! You're two years ahead of me! But I'll stop distracting you now."

Futaba left and Yu returned to his studying, losing himself in the material. The common point he was looking for must be here somewhere...

"All right, Narukami. I don't want to disrupt you, but I need to close up shop."

Sakura's voice startled him away from his books and he looked up, realizing it was half an hour past closing time. "I'm sorry." He quickly started gathering up his things. "I lost track of time."

"No worries. How are you feeling about entrance exams?"

"Absolutely terrified. But I'm doing everything I can to prepare."

Sakura grunted in approval, lighting a cigarette as he watched Yu pack up. "You're a good kid, Narukami. I think you'll do well in life."

"Thank you, Sakura-san."

"Go on, now. Get some sleep."

Yu's phone started buzzing with text messages as he unlocked his apartment door. The Phantom Thieves group chat was discussing their plans for finishing up the infiltration of Niijima Sae's Palace. As usual these days, Akechi was leading the conversation, which left a sour taste in Yu's mouth. He knew why they had to work with the detective, but the fact that the entire country was hailing him as the second coming of the Detective Prince when he knew Akechi's traitorous intent angered him more than anything he had dealt with as a Phantom Thief. Naoto's calm and detached analysis was light years from Akechi's calculated scheming, and Yu hated him; there was no other word for it. Disgruntled, he plugged his phone in to charge and went to go take a shower.

When he emerged, toweling his hair dry, the missed call indicator on his phone caught his eye. Frowning, he picked it up. Phantom Thieves business was conducted over text; Futaba assured them that she had encrypted their connections to hell and back, and texting couldn't be overheard, so it was unusual for anyone to call him. He swiped it open and tapped on the phone app.

_ 10:52 pm. Kitagawa Yusuke. Missed call. _

That was only four minutes ago. He hit redial, barely getting the phone up to his ear before it stopped ringing.

"I hope I didn't wake you up." Despite the speed with which he had answered, Yusuke's voice sounded dull and exhausted even through the phone.

"No, I was in the shower. What's wrong?"

Yusuke hesitated for so long that Yu almost repeated his question. "I was just...lonely. I wanted to hear another voice besides the ones in my thoughts." Another pause. "It's been quite some time since I felt this way," he admitted, voice quiet, "and the first time that happened when I felt like there was someone I  _ could _ talk to."

Despite how much time they'd been spending together, they still hadn't really talked about their pasts in much detail. The little that Yu knew of Yusuke's life before the Phantom Thieves did not paint a particularly nice picture, and he suspected Yusuke himself didn't really know how much damage Madarame had done to him during his childhood.

"One of the other students here had thrown out a small fan when they replaced it, and I rescued it to use at night. Having the sound helped me to sleep. It stopped working today, and..."

"Now you're stuck in your own head." Yu understood the feeling all too well. After one too many sleepless nights, he had scavenged a CD player from the secondhand shop and would turn on something to drown out the memories and the self-blame before they could overwhelm him.

"Precisely."

"Anything in particular you want to talk about? Otherwise I can wax poetic about how stupid Akechi's Metaverse outfit is."

A small laugh. "The outfit itself I do not find objectionable. It evokes that of a noble's guard, the white implying purity. I do find it intriguing how such a black-hearted person is able to appear so untainted there."

"Okay, but you can't deny how stupid the giant bird beak is."

"Truly, I cannot."

Yu glanced at the clock on his desk. "It's past your curfew, isn't it?"

"It is."

"You could always sneak out and catch the last train over here."

"Ah, if only I possessed the agility of a fox outside of the cognitive world. The window would be my only option, and I fear I would break multiple limbs if I tried."

"I could sneak  _ into _ your dorm."

"Tempting though that offer truly is, I don't want you to risk getting in trouble on my behalf." There was a creaking sound, and Yu guessed that Yusuke had sat down on his bed. "Thank you for calling me back, Yu. Even this short conversation has raised my spirits."

"That's what boyfriends are for."

The sound of a sharp inhale came through the phone, which Yu immediately recognized as Yusuke's caught-off-guard reaction, and his eyes widened at what he had just unthinkingly said. They had never had any discussion of what exactly the nature of their relationship was.  _ Too late to take it back now, I guess... _

"It is, isn't it?" Yusuke murmured, and Yu could picture the dazed look that went along with that tone of voice.

"I didn't mean to put a label on it, if you're not comfortable with that...."

"No, no, I'm just -- still surprised." It sounded like Yusuke tried to muffle the sound of a sniff, to poor effect. "I never expected anyone to call me their boyfriend. Or to have one myself."

"I've been told I'm full of surprises."

"You truly are." A small sound that was suspiciously yawn-like made its way through the phone. "Pardon me. Now that I've heard your voice, I feel like I will be able to sleep now. Thank you."

"Of course. Sleep well, Yusuke."

"Good night, Yu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst and fluff <3


	12. The Rulebreakers

"All right, everyone."

Akira’s eyes burned with a fierce determination behind his mask. The faintly red aura of Niijima Sae's Palace on high alert did not seem to bother him in the slightest.

"This is it. We all know what the plan is, and we know what's at stake. I'll ask this once: are you ready?"

"Yes," Yu said in unison with the rest of the Phantom Thieves and Akechi.

"Good. Mona, Crow, and Queen, with me. Panther, you're backup healer if Mona needs to switch out, so I want you at the front of the second group. The rest of you, guard Oracle and be ready to revive or switch in if necessary."

Akira turned away from them, phone in hand to take them to the safe room closest to Niijima's Treasure.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Now, why don't we begin?"

Shadow Sae snapped her fingers, and smoothly the lit panels encircling the arena they stood on retracted to reveal red and black numbers. Even Akira's nearly unflappable demeanor cracked a little as they all looked around themselves nervously.

"A clash of brute strength is simply uncalled for on this stage."

"What is she intending?" Akechi's voice was much tenser than Yu would have expected.

Sakamoto, on the other hand, yelled, "No more coins or playin' games! We ain't followin' your damn rules!"

"Oh, you will. There is no room for negotiation. You will know soon enough." The Shadow flickered, shifting for just a split second --

"What was that?" Makoto breathed, low enough that Yu wouldn't have heard her if she hadn't been standing right next to him.

"Now...come at me!"

Makoto looked up with terrified eyes at her sister's Shadow as Morgana looked back at the group. "All right everyone -- be on alert!"

"May the best player win."

"All right, let's do it!" Futaba's voice echoed in their minds.

There wasn't really much of a forward team or rear guard like they were accustomed to in the circular, open roulette arena; those not actively fighting just tried to stay out of the way as much as possible as Necronomicon zipped around overhead, feeding information to Futaba so she could aid them.

Shadow Sae snapped her fingers again, and the screen behind her lit up with the words "Bet HP".

"What the -- ?"

"Now," Sae said, cutting across Futaba's sputtering, "let us play a game of roulette. The stakes will be...our lives."

Akira held out a hand in a 'stop' gesture to Akechi, who had been raising his hand to order his Persona to attack.

"Of course, acts of violence are forbidden here. One must follow the rules."

"We already told you, there's no way we're gonna follow your rules anymore!" Futaba yelled.

"That's fine by me," Sae said serenely. "Such troublesome people will just face the penalty."

"What's the penalty?" Makoto asked tensely, but Sae just smiled, as the roulette ball continued to circle around them.

"She might be bluffing," Yusuke offered, from his position just behind Akira.

"I don't think so. She's been very straightforward so far."

"You will predict which pocket the ball will fall into."

"I'm almost positive she's going to try and cheat," Morgana said, "but even if we bring that up, she'd just ignore us."

"We need to get evidence to figure out how she's cheating," Yu said, and Akira nodded.

"How will you bet?"

Akira's head turned back and forth, masked eyes flicking around the arena looking for clues. "Red."

"Low risk, low reward. Let's see the results."

The ball and wheel slowly stopped spinning, and the ball angled directly towards a red 36 -- 

Only to redirect at the last second, almost floating in midair, and fall into the black 24 slot next to it.

"There was a glass lid over the pocket." Yusuke's expression was largely hidden behind the kitsune mask, but the disgust in his voice was apparent.

Yu winced as the penalty for losing was exacted from each team member simultaneously, feeling like he had just taken an arrow to the shoulder. He summoned Sarasvati for a quick Mediarama.

"We need to catch her in the act," Akechi said. "If we can snipe the glass at just the right moment, the ball will fall into the correct pocket."

"I'll leave that to you, then," Akira said, directing a quick blast of electricity to distract Shadow Sae, and Akechi disappeared as Ann sprang forward to fill his place.

"What's your bet?"

"Red," Akira said, loudly and clearly.

"Very well."

The wheel slowed, the ball hovered there on top of the glass for a split second, and the muffled sound of Akechi’s gun heralded the shattering of the barrier.

Sae shrieked as the health penalty was extracted from her.

"You were cheating this whole time!" Makoto cried out.

"Shut up, shut up, shut UP!"

The Shadow shifted, exploding into the shape they had glimpsed earlier, and suddenly everything was pandemonium. Machine gun fire sprayed, and instinctively Yu dropped to the ground. The sharp  _ twang _ of Morgana's slingshot interrupted the flow of bullets as the Shadow staggered, and Yu took that moment to summon Sarasvati for another healing spell.

"She's charging up!"

The blast of psychokinetic energy would have knocked Yu to the floor if he hadn't already been there. The arena flickered around him, white fog creeping around him --

"I'm here."

Yusuke's gloved hands grasped his, and Yu's grip reflexively tightened on them as he shook away the vestiges of Yomotsu Hirasaka. They stared at each other for a split second before both diving back into the fight.

Finally, Shadow Sae crouched in front of them, her monstrous form having retreated inside her human shape. "So I've lost."

"Sis!"

Makoto rushed forward, and the words she and her sister's Shadow spoke to each other were too quiet for Yu to hear.

Sakamoto dismissively waved his hand, two fingers up. The signal. "We'll go grab the Treasure."

He and Yusuke trotted off to where they had earlier secreted a nondescript briefcase to serve as a decoy Treasure. Yu looked back to where Makoto was pleading with Shadow Sae.

"We found it."

To all but the most careful listener, Yusuke's voice would have held a note of restrained triumph. Yu heard just a hint of the nerves they were all feeling. Well, except for that goddamned upstart Detective Prince wannabe.

"The investigation will now be able to proceed," Akechi said smoothly. "The suspicions against you will be lifted as well. This deal we made was a great experience for me."

Yu carefully kept his gaze on the floor to avoid summoning Titania to nuke Akechi from the face of the planet.

"But all good deals must come to an end."

"All right, we don't need to stay here any longer," Morgana said.

"Enemy readings!" Futaba said, and the panic in her voice was too real for Yu's liking. "They're gathering outside!"

"What's going on?"

"We need to go now! We'll be done for if they surround us!"

"A team this large would be discovered immediately. We had best split up for our escape."

All eyes were trained on Makoto.

"Although...we'll need someone to act as a decoy."

"I'll do it." Akira stepped forward before anyone else would have had a chance.

"Joker? Are you planning on distracting them  _ by yourself?" _

He flashed a cocky smile. "I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

"But -- "

"Let him do it, Queen," Sakamoto said, and there was none of the usual brashness in his voice. "He's quiet, but once his mind's made up, he's not gonna take no for an answer."

He handed the briefcase to Akira.

"Don't do anything reckless!"

"I'll never forgive you if you don't make it out!"

"This truly is a painfully reluctant parting."

"We'd better hurry." Akechi's voice was clipped.

"Go," Akira ordered, before striding out towards the elevator.

Akechi, Sakamoto, and Morgana disappeared first, creeping down a back stairwell that Futaba had identified earlier. They fully expected Akechi to conveniently separate himself from the other two, relying on his desire to not unmask himself for the traitor he was to keep him from killing the other two. Ann, Haru, and Makoto were next, taking the front stairs out to go back through the House of Darkness to a staff exit around the side.

"Time for us to make like a tree," Futaba said, her attempt at humor undermined by the fact her body was tenser than a piano string.

She, Yusuke, and Yu had the most dangerous route, traveling through the largest portion of the casino in the open, and if they ran into Shadows along the way they would be relying on Yu's Wild Card abilities to cover the elemental attacks that Yusuke could not.

Yusuke gently placed his hand around Futaba's upper arm to guide her, as she was already distracted trying to direct four different groups on where to go. "Joker, Shadows to your left. Skull, you need to turn left there. Holy shit, Noir just  _ dismembered _ that Shadow. Spark, head right."

Yu led the way, keeping alert.

"I'm picking up some chatter. Joker, you've been spotted."

A quick shortcut led them back to the main high-limit floor, and Yu threw out a hand behind him to stop Yusuke and Futaba. A Shadow stood guard just in front of them, its back to them. Yusuke nodded, releasing his grip on Futaba and bringing a hand up to his mask in preparation for summoning Goemon.

Yu crept up behind the shadow. What was it that Joker always said when he was unmasking Shadows?

"Show me your true form!"

The mask ripped with the feeling of sinewy flesh, dissolving in his hand as he jumped backwards, mentally giving himself a five out of ten on the coolness scale as he barely managed to avoid tripping over his own feet.

"Weak to ice," Futaba said dismissively. "Piece of cake."

Yusuke made quick work of the Shadow, freezing it in place with a simple Bufu spell so he and Yu could finish it off together.

"Shit. Just run, Joker! Get out of there!"

They kept going, trying to keep calm.

"What's this other reading?" Futaba muttered to herself, not broadcasting through Necronomicon. "It's like Joker, but...like a part of him." Her head snapped up and she went back to broadcasting. "Joker, behind you!"

She stopped suddenly, causing Yusuke to stumble before he gently tugged her along. "We have to keep moving, Oracle."

"I know, I know...Is that -- Akechi? It doesn't match his earlier readings, but -- oh. Down these stairs and we're out."

"Anything up ahead?" Yu asked as he opened the door.

"Nope. They're all focused on Joker. He's the one Akechi wants the most. Figures the rest of us'll fall in line after that."

"I daresay we will be considered loose ends after a time," Yusuke said.

"That's a problem for Future Us. Through this door! Outside!"

They emerged out the back of the casino, into a parking lot.

"Status updates, everyone." She listened for a minute, presumably getting responses from the other groups. "Good work. Joker -- " she choked, and Yusuke moved his hand from her arm to rest comfortingly on her shoulder -- "be careful."

She took a deep breath, releasing it with a steely determination as she turned to face Yu. "Next step, yeet that pesky cognitive version of Akechi off the server."

There was a loud commotion from the front of the building. Yu gritted his teeth and kept moving, as much for Futaba's sake as for what he knew they still needed to do. Akira's life was on the line, and they had to see their part through to the end.

"Mona, hang a left there and meet up with us."

The commotion suddenly died down. "Joker's signal is gone. They've taken him out of the Metaverse. Akechi's gone too."

In the light of the streetlamps, Yu could see the carefully-hidden anxiety in his teammates' faces as the groups all met up.

"This door should get us into the building where they'll interrogate Joker. Cognitive Akechi's gotta be around here somewhere, and we just need to stomp his stupid, smug face into the ground."

Almost as one, the remaining Phantom Thieves turned to face Yu, clearly signaling that he was in charge now. He swallowed the lump of nerves in his throat; as the other Trickster, and someone already used to leading a group of Persona-users, it made sense for him to be the leader in Akira's absence. "Let's go. Quietly, so we don't have to waste any time fighting Shadows that isn't strictly necessary."

Futaba led them around the hallways, dodging junior detectives juggling mugs of coffee, janitorial staff, and even one grizzled old-timer who was hidden in a corner taking a swig from a flask. It reminded Yu a bit of the Inaba Police Department where Dojima worked, with Adachi's eager yet put-upon attitude as he carried coffee to the senior detective. He wished he could have gotten to know Adachi before Izanami had gotten to him. Things might have been different.

"Akechi's office is just around this corner. Door's locked, though."

"Is he in there?"

"I'm getting a reading that sure seems like him, at least. How do you want to do this?"

"Electronic or physical lock?"

Futaba gave Yu a look, ruined slightly by the goggles that completely hid her eyes. "If it were electronic, I wouldn't have even bothered telling you about it before disabling it."

"Point taken. Mona, feeling confident in your lockpicking skills?"

"As much as I can, but it's not a silent process. Akechi will hear me picking the lock. Best case, the first person through the door gets a bullet to the head. Worst case, he calls backup and we're all overwhelmed."

Yu looked up at the ceiling as if it had the answers. The fluorescent light flickered above them.

"Wait a minute. Oracle, can you cut the power to this area?"

"Sure, I can send out a small EMP. It'll get a little more than just Akechi's office, but not much more."

"Do it. With any luck, he'll unlock the door to see what's going on. Our Personas give off enough light for us to fight by. Everyone, hide out of sight of the door."

"All righty. Commencing Operation Summon Akechi's Stupid Face in three...two...one..."

The lights surrounding them went out. Yu gripped the dagger he had borrowed from Akira in his hand as he crouched closest to the door, ready to rush Akechi as soon as the door opened.

"He's moving," Futaba whispered through Necronomicon.

The lock clicked, and the door started to open.

Skilled detective though he might be, the cognitive copy of Akechi stood no chance against a sneak attack from six angry Phantom Thieves and their navigator. As his form wisped away into the air, Futaba stalked over and aimed a kick where his balls would have been.

"We need to leave before anyone else notices the power outage," Yu said.

"I hear voices." Makoto suddenly tensed from her spot closest to the door.

"Two readings," Futaba said, instantly synthesizing Makoto's words and Necronomicon's information.

"I'll distract them." Morgana jumped down from Akechi's desk.

"We're not leaving you behind, Mona!" Ann protested.

"Who said anything about that? Wait for me to say 'pancakes', then run. I'll catch up with you outside the building." And with that, he darted out the door.

"I guess a weird cat-thing would be pretty distracting," Sakamoto muttered, before Futaba shushed him.

"Excuse me!" Morgana's voice, pitched higher than normal, floated back to them. "I'm sorry, I think I'm lost."

"What the f--"

"Can you tell me where the break room is?"

"Are you a talking cat?"

"Just an intern," Morgana trilled. "I need to get Detective Akiyama some coffee."

"Uh -- okay. Right. The break room is -- you know what, I'll just take you there. Be easier than trying to explain it, because you are extremely lost."

"Thank you so much! I must have eaten too many  _ pancakes _ for breakfast this morning, I've been out of sorts all day."

Yu motioned for the rest of them to leave, and they tiptoe-ran back to the stairs they had come up.

"Stairway's clear," Futaba announced.

"Let's get out of here," Ann moaned.

"You should ask Morgana if he could tutor you in acting, Panther," Yusuke said, as they started down the stairs. "That performance was masterful."

"My acting is just fine, thank you very much."

"I recall being quite confused with your 'innocent' requests to leave my room in Madarame's shack. I was merely suggesting that Morgana could help you -- "

"I still got you into that storage room without taking my clothes off, didn't I? I'd call that successful acting."

Sakamoto snickered. "S'pose your clothes would've stayed there after we left the Metaverse? Would you have had to ride the subway home tits out?"

"Do  _ not _ make me castrate you with my whip."

They emerged outside, where, true to his word, Morgana was waiting. "Told you I wouldn't get left behind."

"Let's leave," Yu said. "It's late and we still have to act like normal students tomorrow."

"Aw, eff." Sakamoto kicked the ground. "Can't we just take tomorrow off?"

"Absolutely not," Makoto said severely. "Joker's arrest will be all over the news. We can't afford any suspicion on us right now."

"Fiiiiine..."

Yu held up his phone, signaling that he was about to use the MetaNav to return them to the real world, and they all nodded.

It was dusk outside the courthouse as it shifted into view in its non-cognitive state. With masks gone, he could see how exhausted and anxious everyone looked. "Go home. Rest up. There's nothing we can do right now except wait."

Haru, Ann, and Makoto left together, with Sakamoto slinking along a bit after. Futaba was clinging to Yu's arm like he'd seen her do with Akira when she was scared, and he carefully moved his other hand, clearly letting her see it before gently patting her on the head so he wouldn't startle her. "Come on, let's get you home."

"We need to carry Morgana, as well," Yusuke said. "Where did we leave Akira's bag?"

"In those trees."

Yusuke retrieved the bag, kneeling down and holding it open so Morgana could jump in, before straightening up and carefully hanging the bag over his left shoulder. Together, they headed towards the station.

Futaba didn't let go of Yu the entire way to the train station, or while they were riding it back to Shibuya. Yu was more relieved than he cared to admit when Yusuke got on the train to Yongen-jaya with them after grabbing a bottle of green tea from one of the vending machines; he didn't relish the idea of being alone that night when Akira's fate -- and maybe all of their fates, as well -- hung in the balance. Together, they walked to the Sakura house. "Everything will be all right, Futaba," Yu said, trying to soothe her worries. "This is Akira we're talking about. I'm sure he's got everything under control."

She whimpered, then sobbed, but seemed determined to get hold of herself, wiping her face on the back of her hand. She finally let go of Yu's arm, straightened, and held out her hand to Yusuke for the Morgana-bag. Once he had handed it over, she walked through the front door without looking back. Yu waited until the door swung shut and locked behind her before turning away, closing his eyes for a moment before heading towards his apartment. As soon as they were out from under the light of the streetlight, Yusuke's hand slipped into Yu's, fingers even colder than normal as he intertwined them with Yu's.

Without stopping to think better of it, Yu stopped suddenly, pulling Yusuke into a tight hug, letting the emotions of the last few hours wash over him as he gripped the back of Yusuke's jacket with his free hand. Yusuke's breathing, shaky but regular, grounded him there, in that moment, and slowly they stepped away from each other, still holding hands, to walk the last block to Yu's apartment.

He kicked his shoes off, not bothering to put them away, and crossed the room to the window seat. The crescent moon peeked in and out of clouds, leaving his apartment darker than usual, but the idea of turning on a light seemed utterly unthinkable. The darkness seemed to swirl around him, reminding him of how powerless he was, yet again.

Yusuke came up next to him, and the fact that he wasn't already picking up the spare sketchbook that lived in the window seat just underscored how wrong everything was. A thousand thoughts and impulses jockeyed for attention in Yu's mind, and in an effort to quiet them, he grasped the front of Yusuke's shirt with both hands. If he held on, maybe this one wouldn't be taken away.

For the first time since they had entered the casino earlier that day, Yusuke's face showed his true emotions, not the mask they had all been putting up to fool Akechi. Exhaustion and fear, mostly, and Yu raised one hand to gently thread his fingers through Yusuke's hair before pulling him close.

Feelings swirled haphazardly around them as they kissed, and Yu tried to block them out, focusing on the oddly welcome distraction of how chapped Yusuke's lips were, instinctively letting his teeth graze Yusuke's bottom lip, eliciting a shiver from the artist.

Yu pulled away enough to search Yusuke's eyes, wordlessly asking for permission, oddly close to tears. With an endearing clumsiness born of mutual inexperience, their lips and tongues met, and Yu surrendered himself to this new closeness, tasting the ghost of the green tea Yusuke had drank on the train.

When they separated for air, Yu buried his face in Yusuke's shoulder, only just feeling the tenseness with which Yusuke was gripping the back of his shirt collar. "I -- I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I should've actually asked if you would be okay with that first."

Yusuke let go of his shirt, rubbing soothing circles on his back. "I know you weren't trying to make me uncomfortable, or hurt me. We come from different perspectives when it comes to the physicality of a relationship. It's a process."

"I don't deserve you," Yu muttered. "I just shoved my tongue down your throat unasked-for and now  _ you're _ comforting  _ me." _

"I would have stopped you if I couldn't handle it."

"But I don't want to be something you just tolerate -- "

"Yu." Yusuke grasped both sides of his face, forcing him to look up and meet his eyes. "I love you. And if that means occasionally French kissing you, that's something I’m happy to do."

Yu stared at him, three words crashing into him like an emotional tsunami, and this time it was Yusuke who kissed him, gentler and sweeter than their earlier kiss, and this time he was the one who shivered as he felt Yusuke part his lips slightly, experimentally touching the tip of his tongue to Yu's lips. He matched Yusuke's intensity, but let the other boy lead at his own pace, until they were once again dazed from lack of air.

He rested his forehead on Yusuke's, just breathing for several seconds until he found his voice again, pulling away to look Yusuke in the eyes. "I love you too, Yusuke."

Yusuke closed his eyes and looked down, a soft smile gracing his face even as tears caught in his lashes, and Yu suddenly realized he was probably the first person to say that to Yusuke since his mother had passed. Tenderly, he used his thumb to wipe the wetness away, even as he felt his own tears spill over.

How long they stood like that, he didn't know, but as the adrenaline from the kisses faded, exhaustion started to creep back into his consciousness. "Shall we get some sleep?"

"Yes, we should."

Perhaps it wasn't the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements, but neither of them cared as they tangled themselves together, both unwilling to not embrace the other, and Yu smiled at Yusuke's face close to his before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote that damn kiss scene five times and I'm still not entirely happy with it. Romance is haaaaaard.
> 
> Also, part of the dialogue from the fight with Shadow Sae is taken from Persona 5.


	13. The Anomaly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: mild suicidal ideation.

The trilling of Yu's alarm was never a pleasant sound, but today it was even less welcome than usual. Snaking one arm out of the blankets, he tried to grab his phone to snooze the alarm, hand only finding the floor the first couple of times before finally, mercifully, tapping the snooze button. He retracted back into the warm cocoon, snuggling back into Yusuke, who had entirely slept through the noise.

Yusuke stirred the third time the alarm went off, slowly blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Unable to help himself, Yu brushed his lips to Yusuke's, savoring the sleepy half-smile he got in return before forcing himself to get up. Yusuke merely burrowed further into the blankets, turning towards the wall with an indistinct mumble. Figuring the scent of breakfast would rouse him eventually, Yu let him be, going into the kitchen to make eggs.

Sure enough, Yusuke finally crawled out of bed as Yu was dishing up the freshly-cooked eggs, normally immaculate hair mussed every which way. He sat down at the table as Yu brought the bowls over, still wearing the sweatpants and T-shirt he had borrowed.

It was surprisingly domestic, Yu mused, as if Yusuke had always been meant to be there eating breakfast with him in the morning, making a face at the coffee that was nowhere near as good as Leblanc's but still drinking it anyway, absently making comments about the patterns on the mismatched coffee mugs and their artistic meanings.

Once they were both fed and caffeinated, changed, and hair combed into their usual states, they headed out towards the station. The sky was clear, the late fall air crisp; it would have been a beautiful day if the uncertainty of what was happening to Akira hadn't been hanging over their heads.

They saw Ann at Shibuya as they were transferring lines, and she waved at the two of them tiredly before boarding her own train to Aoyama-Itchome. "I fear I will not be able to concentrate on art today," Yusuke admitted, as they stood on the platform waiting for the train. "There are far too many concerns on my mind."

"Yeah, I'm glad all my classes today are just lectures. I don't think I could focus on anything else."

The Phantom Thieves group chat was deathly quiet all day. No one wanted to talk about the one thing that was on everyone's mind. Lunch was a solitary affair for Yu; Yusuke hadn't texted him to meet up, and he didn't want to risk disturbing the artist on the off chance he had somehow managed to immerse himself in a painting and forget the outside world for a while.

Yu's phone finally buzzed for the first time all day as everyone was packing up after the final bell. He threw the rest of his things in his bag and tried not to look as anxious as he felt leaving the classroom. Once safely outside the school, he opened the message.

_ Oracle: It's on the news. _

_ Queen: What did they say? _

Futaba's next text was just a link. Yu tapped on it, dreading what it would say.

_ Police are one step closer to solving the case of the mental shutdowns. Sources say a suspect was apprehended yesterday evening in downtown Tokyo. His identity remains unknown, but police confirmed he is a minor. _

Another notification popped up from Futaba with another link. Yu dismissed the first article and opened the second.

_ The investigation into the Phantom Thieves hit an unexpected snag this morning as the suspect taken into custody committed suicide in his holding cell. _

_ Skull: That means it worked, right? _

_ Queen: We don't know yet. Sis hasn't come back yet. She hasn't come to Leblanc yet, has she? _

_ Oracle: No. _

_ Queen: Let's meet up there as soon as possible, anyway. _

_ Fox: We will come straight there. _

Yu looked up as Yusuke walked up next to him, phone in hand, with a somber expression.

The train ride back to Yongen-jaya was somehow even worse than the ride to school this morning. The noise of the other passengers was grating; every conversation seemed to be about the Phantom Thieves and how awful they were. Hidden by the mass of people around them, he pressed his hand against Yusuke's for comfort, but otherwise kept still and impassive until their stop.

"Are you all right?" Yusuke asked once they were on the backstreets. "You look furious."

"Do I?" Yu ran a hand through his hair, blowing a forceful breath out his mouth. "I was trying not to let it show."

"It's subtle to the untrained eye."

"Been studying me like a piece of art?"

"You  _ are _ my muse, after all."

The line was so cheesy, but delivered with such utmost sincerity, that Yu couldn't help but laugh. "I love you, you incorrigible art nerd."

They were just out of sight of Leblanc and no one was around, so Yu impulsively kissed Yusuke on the cheek, grinning at the blush that instantly dusted his face as he looked down with a small smile.

The moment of peace was short-lived, though. Leblanc had the atmosphere of a funeral parlor. Futaba was sitting in the furthest booth, legs drawn up into her chest, laptop sitting abandoned in front of her. Haru and Makoto were sitting opposite her, but both of them were just staring down into their coffees. Ann's whipped-cream-topped drink looked strangely out of place, too festive for the occasion. Morgana was nowhere to be found, nor was Sakamoto.

Sakura slid cups of coffee in front of both of them as they sat down next to Ann, not even asking. Yu barely tasted the liquid as he drank more out of something to do than a particular desire to consume coffee. Sakamoto finally skulked in, sitting down at the edge of the group and scowling, and Morgana appeared from upstairs not long after.

"Somebody  _ please _ say something," Futaba begged, her voice muffled into her legs. Yu was almost impressed with how tiny she could make herself.

The silence that followed seemed to suck the very air from the room.

"I saw the most beautiful beetle outside my classroom window today." Never before had the entirety of the Phantom Thieves focused so intently on Yusuke's words. "It was a striking shade, almost precisely phthalo emerald, with just a touch of metallic sheen. The particular angle at which the sunlight cast its rays upon its back made it seem almost as if it were itself a source of illumination. The darker lines in its shell were perfectly parallel, as if a skilled cartoonist were drawing a heavy rain, until they curved around to meet in a single point at the end. I wish that I -- "

The door to Leblanc opened with a jingle of its bells, and Yusuke had never looked so relieved to be interrupted in the middle of an art spiel as they all turned to see Niijima Sae carefully supporting a heavily-injured Akira into the cafe. "Hey guys, I'm a ghost," he croaked, smiling weakly.

"Oh my God, you reckless idiot." Ann's laugh was almost shrill with relief. "You must be fine if you're joking around like that."

"I've...felt better, to be honest."

Niijima helped him into one of the booths as Sakura brought him a glass of water, which he drank for a long moment with eyes closed as if it were the nectar of the gods. When he set the glass down, he looked around at the group before settling on Yu. "So your part went well?"

Yu nodded. "We got out of the Palace without incident and took care of what we needed to do."

"Thank you," Akira said sincerely.

Sakura cleared his throat. "Does someone want to clue an old man in on what's going on?"

Together, they told him and Niijima the whole story of the Phantom Thieves. The early parts were still fuzzy to Yu. For as little as he knew about Yusuke's past, he knew even less about Ann, Akira, and Sakamoto; they had just dropped into his life fully-formed as Persona-users, and he had never really become close enough to any of them that he felt like it was his business to pry into the early Phantom Thieves incidents.

At the end of their explanation, Niijima fixed Yu with a piercing stare. "Every other member of the Phantom Thieves can be tied directly to one of the Metaverse incidents," she said, "except for you. Narukami-san, was it? You're a bit of an anomaly even considering how outlandish this whole case is. How did you come to be involved in all this?"

Yu looked down. He had seen her glancing at him several times through the conversation at the introduction of each new Palace, as if wondering which one would contain his tragic backstory, and had been dreading this question more and more as the talking wound down. The story didn't get any easier with retellings. "Last April, I went to Inaba to spend a year at my uncle's while my parents were working abroad. Not long after, people started getting murdered. Inaba's version of the Metaverse, I guess, was accessed through TVs, so I kind of discovered it on accident when I accidentally touched the screen of the TV in my room. It also had Palaces, but instead of them being formed from distorted desires it was more about...things people were suppressing about themselves? We rescued people who had been thrown into the TV, because otherwise the Shadows would kill them."

"Thrown into -- ?"

"I have Personas because some goddess thing got bored," Yu said, trying and failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice, "and decided to give that power to someone who would be a force for good and someone who was a force for -- I don't know. Evil. Chaos. Who knows. That was who was throwing people into the TV to kill them. But we weren't strong enough to beat Izanami, and..."

The fear and anger that he had almost forgotten over the past few months surged, turning into hot tears stinging his eyes, but he blinked them away. Yusuke shifted position behind him and he felt a cool hand placed comfortingly on his shoulder. He shrugged it off irritably, suddenly wanting nothing more than for everyone to leave him alone. "She killed all my friends, wiped all memories of us from everyone who knew us, and then dumped me here in Tokyo. I don't know why. I wish she'd just killed me, too."

Niijima brought a well-manicured hand to her own forehead, grimacing. "I'm sorry for your losses, Narukami-san." She looked at the clock on the wall. "I have things I need to wrap up at the office today. Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to ensure you will all remain safe while you carry out the rest of your mission. Just...try to keep a low profile, all right?"

She picked up her briefcase and headed out.

"So...what d'we do now?" Sakamoto inquired, idly kicking the legs of his stool.

"I need some air," Yu said, stalking out of the cafe.

There was a chill in the evening air that only served to make him more irritable, and he zipped his jacket up, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked in the opposite direction from the station. The alley where the clinic was didn't exactly exude a welcoming atmosphere, but he figured it was about the last place anyone would look for him.

He was angry; angry at Izanami for ripping his life apart, angry at Niijima for making him think about it, and angry at himself for not being over it. He dropped onto a bench mostly obscured by a potted shrub outside the clinic, roughly yanking Teddie’s glasses off and setting them down next to him so he could bury his face in his hands.

_ I wish she'd just killed me, too. _

What an insensitive thing to have said in front of the people who had helped him pick up the pieces over the past several months. To have said in front of the one person who had somehow become even closer to him than any of his Inaba friends. Tears dampened his hands as his frustration evaporated and guilt settled over him, and he just tried not to breathe loudly enough to attract attention from anyone who might be walking nearby.

He felt, rather than heard, Yusuke sitting down next to him, only prompting the tears to fall faster, and he pressed his palms harder against his eyes. Arms closed around him, pulling him close, and Yusuke's cheek rested on Yu's hair as Yu's hands found the front of Yusuke's jacket to cling to, still crying as he tried to focus on the comforting feel of Yusuke's heartbeat.

When Yu's breathing had slowed to something closer to normal, Yusuke pulled away slightly, leaving his hands on Yu's shoulders as he searched his face. A sadness beyond anything Yusuke had shown before made Yu's stomach clench anew. Yusuke opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally spoke. "I love you."

He closed his eyes, unable to face the hurt in Yusuke's expression any longer. "I know," he said brokenly.

"Do you truly wish Izanami had killed you?"

"No, dammit, I'm sorry, I just -- I haven't had to think about it in a while and it just -- came out." He tried to open his eyes, but the will to do so failed him. More tears escaped as he squeezed his eyelids shut harder.

Yusuke gently combed his fingers through Yu's hair. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't." Even through the hell that his exhausted brain was putting him through, he wrapped his own arms around Yusuke. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

He lost track of how long they sat there until the frigid first spatters of a rain shower dropped upon them. "We should go home," Yusuke murmured, gently extricating himself from the embrace and retrieving the glasses from where Yu had carelessly set them aside. He folded up the legs, sliding one into his shirt collar to hold the glasses for safekeeping before reaching out a hand to Yu. "Shall we?"

Yu let himself be pulled to his feet, not letting go of Yusuke's hand even after they had started walking. When they reached the apartment building, he spun to face the other. "Stay here tonight," he pleaded desperately.

Yusuke's low laugh was just audible over the sounds of the now-steady rain. "As if you could be rid of me."

Twenty minutes later, the tea kettle whistled, and Yu watched Yusuke go into the kitchen to pour the hot water into two mugs with hot cocoa mix already measured into them, stirring each with a chopstick before walking over to where Yu was sitting among the pillows of the window seat and the blanket he had pulled off of the futon. He placed the two mugs on the hard wood of the windowsill before sitting down and pulling Yu in close. They ended up sitting sideways in the seat, Yusuke's right arm wrapped loosely around Yu, who was leaning back into Yusuke's chest. Yu pressed a kiss to Yusuke's cheek before picking up his hot chocolate.

With his right arm now occupied by cuddling, Yusuke lifted his mug to his lips with his left hand, blowing on the surface of the liquid just long enough to be able to take a small sip.

"Sometimes I wonder how you're even alive, with how cold your entire body is."

"Mm." Yusuke took another sip. "To be perfectly honest, I noticed coldness far more before I awakened to my Persona. I have since become one with ice. If anything, you feel abnormally warm to me now."

"My ice queen. I  _ do _ still have a fire Persona equipped."

"It's quite pleasant...my flame."

Yu made a face. "We are terrible at pet names."

"Oh, extraordinarily so."

"Let's never try that again."

"Agreed."

They spoke of nothing of consequence, idle conversation soothing raw emotions more than any serious discussion could, as they slowly finished their hot chocolate. Yu set his empty mug back down on the windowsill, snuggling back into Yusuke as a feeling of tiredness washed over him. "Shall we get some sleep?" Yusuke asked him, breath tickling his ear.

"I suppose." Yu made no move to get up, intertwining his fingers with Yusuke's.

Yusuke freed one hand to turn Yu's face towards him so they could kiss. Yu smiled at him as they separated long enough to crawl into the futon. "I never thought I would be comfortable with this sort of physical affection," Yusuke mused, as Yu drew him close under the covers.

"Was -- was there something that happened? With -- er, in your childhood?"

He felt Yusuke shake his head. "Not directly. Madarame's abuse was largely psychological, not physical. It was merely impressed upon me that I should be neither seen nor heard, and I interpreted that to mean that I should keep to myself in all respects. No one in the atelier was demonstrative in their manner of expression." He paused. "I was...surprised, at first, when you touched me."

Yu distinctly remembered how Yusuke had flinched away, that day in Shibuya when he had been running a fever and Yu had placed a hand on his forehead. "I can understand that. I was that way, too, before..."

His words died on his lips as Nanako's bright and cheerful face flashed through his mind, remembering her cheerfully dragging him all through Junes, hugging him and proudly proclaiming him as her big bro, clinging weakly to him after they had rescued her. Yosuke carelessly slinging an arm around his shoulders as they walked home from school. Rise latching onto his arm given the slightest hint of an excuse. Chie clapping him on the back. Before last year, he could barely imagine anyone wanting physical contact with him, to the point that he would jerk his hand away and apologize if he brushed against anyone in the hallway.

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to bring up memories."

"No, it's fine. I'm just...I'm glad you're here."

"I hate that the circumstances that led you here were so unfortunate...but I am truly glad to have been granted the opportunity to meet you."

"You're so formal sometimes, Yusuke."

"I've been told this, yes."

They drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this chapter. Researching for something for Yusuke to wax poetic about is what taught me that Googling "bugs native to Japan" will lead you to some articles about some truly horrifying bugs that I don't ever want to think about again.


	14. In a Group of Misfits

"You know it's Sunday, right?" Sakamoto groused, slumped over the counter at Leblanc and nursing whatever caffeinated soda abomination he had acquired before coming.

"We can't slack off," Makoto said severely. "Shido is by far the most dangerous foe we've faced to this point, and the consequences of failure would be devastating."

"I know, man, but it's like eight in the morning! Couldn't we have slept like another couple hours or somethin'?"

"It's not Akira's fault you stayed up too late playing World of Warcraft," Morgana said dismissively.

"Oh, eff off."

"Sorry I'm late!"

Haru rushed through the door, her fluffy hair somehow still looking perfectly kept despite her flushed cheeks and heavy breathing indicating she had been running. "I had to deal with some company matters."

"No worries," Akira reassured her from where he was leaning against the counter. "We were just about to get started."

"So what's our plan?" Ann asked.

Akira sighed. "That's part of what I wanted to talk about. I think we're going to be walking a fine line. We don't know how much Shido specifically knows about the Metaverse. It's entirely possible that as we work through his Palace, he'll realize what's going on. Whether that would mean putting up barriers in the Palace or coming after us in real life, I don't know. But the longer we wait to deal with him, the greater the chance he decides to...clean up loose ends."

"You mean make us disappear," Yu said.

Akira's lips set in a thin line. "Akechi knows who all of us are, and we know he's working for Shido. I  _ think _ Shido is comfortable enough with his current positioning to leave us be until after the election rather than risk a scandal, especially since he thinks I'm dead, but I'm honestly not confident."

"What is your proposal, then?" Yusuke asked.

"Train as much as we safely can in Mementos today. That's why I asked everyone to come here this early. When we're done, I recommend the bathhouse down the street, to deal with aches and pains. Then we'll rest tomorrow and go into the Palace on Tuesday. From there, we'll just have to wait and see how much progress we can make and work from there. What are your thoughts?"

"I feel like we were pretty strong coming out of Sae's Palace," Ann said thoughtfully, "so a full day of training in Mementos should be a pretty good jumpstart for Shido's."

"We will need to be mindful, spending a whole day in Mementos," Makoto mused. "We may wish to start at a lower level and work our way up so it gets easier as we go, to account for fatigue."

"Have you recovered enough from how the police mistreated you?" Yusuke asked, critically eyeing Akira.

Akira flashed him a reassuring smile. "I'm a little stiff and bruised, but they didn't damage anything vital. Besides, do you  _ really _ think Morgana would let me out of bed if I were seriously injured?"

Morgana's tail flicked. "Does anyone have any objections?" They all shook their heads. "All right, then, it's settled. Let's go kick some Shadow ass."

Mementos had opened to a large size, but even with that, Morgana still insisted to them that there was more. "I know this is the Metaverse and shit," Sakamoto said, "but if we go any deeper, ain't we gonna be in lava?"

Ann looked up at the ceiling curiously. "How tall is each floor?"

"About four meters," Futaba provided.

"How many floors have we unlocked?"

"Sixty-six. So two hundred sixty-four meters underground."

"There's a gold mine in South Africa that's almost four kilometers deep," Yu said thoughtfully, recalling some offhand comment Kashiwagi had made. "I'm not sure what special equipment or systems they might have in place, but we're at least still at a level that humans have been at before."

"Is anybody else suddenly wondering about the structural integrity of the tunnels?" Makoto said tensely.

"There are relatively few collapses of subway tunnels," Yusuke said, still staring straight ahead to try to ward off car sickness, "and the general public probably does not think about such events particularly often. Since this is the cognitive world, I wouldn't be concerned."

"Shadows around the corner to the left," Futaba cut in.

Akira glanced backwards at Yu. "Take the lead on this," he said. "Oracle said you did well while I was incapacitated at the end of Sae's Palace. I want to see for myself. Pick your team and be ready."

Yu ran through the Shadows he could remember from Sae's Palace, weighing who was most likely to be useful. "Queen, Skull, and Noir, with me."

It was a well-practiced routine at this point: Makoto steered Morgana into the Shadows to stun them, giving the Phantom Thieves time to jump out and get in position, with Futaba staying in the back surrounded by the backup team. "Good instincts, Spark," she commented as the Shadows morphed into their true forms. "Left, nuclear; middle, no elemental weaknesses; right, wind."

"Too easy," Yu grinned. "Kurama Tengu!"

Sakamoto and Haru made short work of the middle Shadow with their quite frankly terrifying melee weapons, while Yu and Makoto attacked with their Personas. Akira flashed them a thumbs up as they finished. "Good work. Keep at it. I want to make sure we're prepared in case we get split up, or I get knocked out, or something."

They worked their way slowly up the floors of Mementos, pausing at a rest area around noon to eat and discuss tactics before switching teams out. Akira, Yusuke, Ann, and Morgana jumped to the front, though by this point the enemies they were facing were so weak it barely mattered.

It was late afternoon by the time they emerged back into Shibuya, grateful for the sunlight streaming through the windows. "I always feel like I need a shower after being in the lower levels of Mementos," Ann said, shuddering.

"It's such a striking look into the depths of the human consciousness," Yusuke said, a frown creasing his forehead. "It's a shame that the Metaverse seems to be about the worst parts of humanity. I wish I could see such an unadulterated look at the embodiments of everyone's brightest hopes, not just their darkest desires."

"Guessin' both places would have a lot of bangin'," Sakamoto said, and Yusuke gave him a withering glare.

"Must you always be so crude?"

"Like you don't think about it. There's gotta be some hot artist chick you think about. Prolly into some freaky shit, eh?"

"You have made so many assumptions with those statements that I quite frankly don't even know where to begin."

They all boarded the train to Yongen-jaya, but apparently Sakamoto wasn't done. "Bet you've painted her naked, haven't you?"

"Does he ever stop talking?" Morgana moaned. Yu saw Akira's eyes flicker between Sakamoto and Yusuke, but he remained quiet.

Yusuke closed his eyes for a brief moment and reopened them, his normally calm demeanor cracking ever so slightly. "I do not look at models as sexual objects."

Sakamoto laughed disbelievingly. "Yeah, right. Ain't that why you went after Ann? There'd have to be something seriously wrong with you to not want her."

"I'm right here, Ryuji!" Ann snapped.

Akira frowned at Sakamoto with no trace of amusement on his face. "You should stop talking."

Yu didn't miss the dark shadow that slid across Yusuke's face for a moment before he schooled it into a look of indifference, nor the fact that he shifted slightly away so there was no chance of them even accidentally brushing against each other. The train ride was uncomfortable after that; at least Sakamoto kept his mouth shut for the rest of it.

The girls and boys separated at the bathhouse, which was blessedly empty except for them. Yu lowered himself into the bath, closing his eyes in satisfaction as the hot water soothed the lingering Mementos tiredness. "Too bad Morgana has to miss out."

Akira snorted. "Are you kidding me? He whines if a single drop of water hits him when it's raining. I don't even want to imagine the sounds he'd make if I tried to get him to take a bath."

"So what is it?" Sakamoto demanded, eyeing Yusuke.

Yusuke sighed as he opened his eyes, irritation clear on his face. "What fresh idiocy are you asking now?"

"Girls. You into dudes or something?"

"I fail to see how this is even remotely your business, nor why my preferences interest you in the slightest. I have no intention of dating you."

Akira rubbed his forehead so hard it looked like it hurt. "I gotta say, I'm inclined to agree with Yusuke. Why  _ are _ you suddenly so interested in this?"

Sakamoto massaged his shoulder a bit. "I just feel like I don't know him at all. I'm just tryin' to get to know him better in case a wingman opportunity comes up." Lowering his arm, Sakamoto looked over at Yu. "What about you, Narukami?"

"I'm at least as gay or straight as you think I am."

"Uh...Akira, what do you think?"

"Sorry," Akira said, eyes closed. "I can't hear you over the sound of this not being relevant to me."

"How do you know? Maybe he'd date you."

"Narukami, I think you're great, but I'm going to have to take a rain check on that passionate date night."

"I'm crushed," Yu said dryly.

"Ugh." Sakamoto leaned backwards. "You guys are no fun."

"You're asking pretty personal questions," Akira pointed out.

"Ain't we all on the same team? Just tryin' to bond."

"Can we  _ please _ move on?" Yusuke asked. "I would like to be able to spend at least some of my time here relaxing."

"All right, all right."

Blissful silence finally fell, though Yu couldn't quite keep his irritation at Sakamoto at bay. Nothing quite like being made to feel like an "other" in a group of misfits.

His annoyance only grew once they had left the bathhouse and Yusuke walked straight past Leblanc and Yu's apartment building to catch the train back to Kosei without a word. He had spent the night at Yu's so often lately that Yu had almost forgotten he still technically lived at the dorms. Only respect for his neighbors kept Yu from slamming his apartment door shut as he walked in alone.

Sleep was restless, Sakamoto's annoying questions weaving through a foggy area with red tile that morphed into the lowest floors of Mementos, and all the while Yu kept reaching out to Yusuke, who drew into himself at the slightest approach. He woke to his alarm, feeling distinctly aggrieved and unrested.

He unlocked his phone, ignoring the Phantom Thieves group chat, to send a text to Yusuke. His fingers faltered over the keyboard, unsure what to say.  _ Sorry Sakamoto is an insensitive asshole? Why did you leave last night? Are you embarrassed to be with me? _

He threw his phone down on the bed and left, the empty message to Yusuke still on screen.

* * *

It was exhausting to try to focus on school. Entrance exams were drawing ever nearer, a fact that none of his teachers failed to remind every class of, and every session was peppered with review questions and dire reminders of how hopeless their futures would be if they failed to achieve high scores. Even Yu, who had always been an excellent student, was starting to answer questions incorrectly and blank out at the worst moments, staring at his literature teacher with an openmouthed expression of mild panic when he couldn't remember who had written  _ The Tale of Genji. _

As the bell rang for lunch, he dropped his head to his desk, remembering that he had not brought any food with him. Cafeteria food it was, then. The headache he had been fighting all morning pulsed at the thought.

He set up in a back corner of the cafeteria with his tray of food, partially hidden by a pillar, and started reviewing for the math class that was after lunch. Maybe if he read through it enough times, something would stick.

"Narukami-san?"

"Huh?"

He started out of his study-induced stupor, eyes focusing up to see a vaguely-familiar girl in front of him, straight dark hair with a knotted three-leaf clover hair accessory pinned neatly. She was holding a notebook out in front of her. "You dropped this outside."

He frowned slightly as he accepted the notebook, not recognizing it as one of his. The name in the front was definitely his, but that wasn't his handwriting, it was -- 

"Thanks," he said distractedly, shoving the last bite of food in his mouth and packing up to head outside.

"You reckless fool," he grumbled, when he found Akira lounging against a wall in a hidden corner of the grounds.

"I prefer the term Trickster," Akira said breezily, holding out Yu's phone.

"How -- ugh, I feel so violated in so many ways."

"I was worried. Neither you nor Yusuke have been answering your phones today. Futaba could at least confirm Yusuke had  _ seen _ our messages, but you just dropped off the grid. I wanted to make sure nothing had happened to you."

"So you skipped school, broke into my apartment, and stole my phone?"

"I made an arrangement with my homeroom teacher, used your spare key to get into your apartment, and retrieved your phone for you," Akira corrected. "Don't worry, I didn't read any of your messages."

"And you sent a fake notebook in with some random third-year to fetch me?"

"Hifumi and I have been friends for a while. She's teaching me shogi. Oh, can I have that back, by the way? I might need it for Makoto-summoning purposes later."

Wordlessly, Yu handed the notebook back, shaking his head. The light smile disappeared from Akira's face as he put the notebook back in his bag. "I'm sorry about Ryuji. I know he means well, but he's got it in his head that the way to form friendships with other guys is to talk about girls. A lot. I've tried to redirect him and show no interest as much as I can, but there's not much else I can think of to do without outing you two, and I definitely don't want to do that without your permission."

The bell rang at that point. Yu groaned.

"Skip for the afternoon. Takemi can write you a note."

"I'd question your morals if that idea didn't sound extremely appealing. Let's go."

They snuck off the school grounds unnoticed, thanks to Akira's uncanny Phantom Thief abilities, and soon were seated in a small cafe in Shinjuku where Akira winked at the owner and started talking about college life as they ordered.

"So what's the deal with you and Yusuke?" Akira asked. "I wouldn't have taken either of you for people who felt the need to hide a relationship from your friends."

"I...wouldn't call Sakamoto a friend."

Akira pursed his lips, looking down at his coffee. "That's unfortunate, but fair. Is that what it is?"

Yu sipped the lavender latte that had been recommended to him, a detached part of him noticing with satisfaction the pale purple color of the foam and the light floral taste. "No? Not really, I don't think. I don't care if you all know. Maybe Yusuke does.”

"You should talk to him about it."

"What if he doesn't want to talk?"

"What, because he didn't spend  _ one single night _ at your apartment after Ryuji upset him? Calm down. And text him now. I don't want you both freaking out about this any longer than you need to."

"Because you need us to focus in Shido's Palace?"

"Because I care about both of you as my friends, idiot. I mean, yes, also the Palace thing, but that's not my primary concern."

Yu felt a resigned smile on his face. "You're the worst good friend sometimes, you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a perfect angel at all times."

"Sure, sure."  Yu unlocked his phone. "You changed my background to a picture of Morgana's behind."

"You like cats. Like I said, perfect angel at all times."

Yu opened the messages app, again hesitating. "I don’t even know what to say. I'm given to understand 'we need to talk' is a bad way to start any conversation in a relationship."

"You're overthinking this. Just ask him to hang out after school."

Unsatisfied with that, but realizing Akira was probably right, he dashed off the message to Yusuke and sent it before he could second-guess it into oblivion. Akira nodded at him as he put his phone away. "It'll be okay. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Sure, just whether the guy I love doesn't want to be seen in public with me."

Akira rested his chin on his fingertips. "Does Yusuke know you love him?"

The handful of memories where they’d used that word with each other came easily to mind. A dark ball of anxiety curled in Yu's stomach. Yusuke had almost always been the one to say it first. Sure, Yu had responded in kind, but...

He jumped when his phone vibrated. It was a response from Yusuke.  _ Of course. Shall I meet you at the gate? _

He ignored the knowing smirk on Akira's face as relief spread through him. He knew it made no sense, but part of him had been worried that he wouldn't get a response.  _ Actually, I skipped this afternoon. Can we meet at Inokashira Park? _

Akira's confidence was bolstering, but he still didn't want to have this conversation anywhere near his apartment in case it went as poorly as his anxiety was insisting it would.

So a couple hours later, Yu sat on a bench in Inokashira Park, trying to figure out why all of a sudden he felt so uncertain about everything. He tried to focus on the chill of the fall breeze, the leaves scuttling across the ground, anything but his whirling thoughts. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath --

"Ah, there you are."

Yu’s eyes snapped open to see Yusuke coming to a stop next to him, the remnants of a smile fading from his face as he saw the expression on Yu's face. "Is there something wrong?"

Yu swallowed, trying to fight back the lump in his throat. "The conversation with Sakamoto yesterday...are you -- do you -- is this what you want?"

Yusuke frowned, sitting down next to Yu. "I don't know what you mean."

_"This."_ Yu gestured at both of them. "If Akira wasn't so damn perceptive, no one would know we're together. As soon as Sakamoto started asking questions, you couldn't move away from me fast enough. I guess I don't necessarily mind keeping it a secret, but I just can't stop wondering if it's a secret because you're embarrassed, or don't want to deal with it, or -- "

"Yu." Yusuke's voice cut through his increasingly anxious rambling, but the lips that were then pressed to his did much more to calm him. When they separated, Yusuke's hand was still on Yu’s shoulder. "I'm not embarrassed, and I didn't mean to make you think our relationship needed to remain secret. I wasn't prepared for Ryuji to be quite so...persistent...in his line of questioning, and Sen -- Madarame -- always enforced that I should be a private person, a habit that I didn't realize would be a problem." He looked earnestly into Yu's eyes. "Please forgive me."

"I love you." It didn't quite fit in the conversation, but this time Yu was determined to say it first.

Yusuke rested his forehead on Yu's, closing his eyes with a peaceful expression on his face. "Not as much as I love you."

Yu couldn't help but laugh. "That is quite literally the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me."

"I could come up with another pet name for you instead, if you'd like."

"I don't think I'm quite ready to die of embarrassment in the middle of the park, thanks."

Just as their lips met again, both of their phones vibrated. With twin sighs, they each checked the new message in the Phantom Thieves group chat. Makoto was suggesting a strategy meeting at Leblanc that evening to prepare for infiltrating Shido's Palace. "I guess that makes sense," Yu said, responding to the message that he would be there before putting his phone back into his pocket. "We still have some time. Want to walk around the park for a bit before we head to Leblanc?"

"That sounds lovely."

The trees were lovely shades of reds and yellows as they walked hand-in-hand, accented by the rays of the setting sun. When they finally headed towards the station, it was still light, but the increasing chill of the air signaled the coming of evening.

Just out of view of Leblanc, Yusuke took Yu's hand again, not letting go even as they entered the cafe.

All of the Shujin second-years were already there, as well as Futaba. Akira was behind the counter fiddling with the coffee machine, while Ann and Sakamoto were in a booth studying. Futaba, at the counter with her laptop, looked up as the bell chimed, eyes immediately going to their clasped hands and giving them both a wide grin.

"'Sup," Sakamoto said laconically, scribbling the rest of a sentence of his homework and then looking up. His eyes widened and he dropped his pencil, raising both hands in surprise. "Wait, are you -- well, why didn't you say something yesterday? I wouldn't've spent so much time talking about chicks if I'd known you were into each other!"

"Maybe you should spend less time talking about girls in general," Ann said, a touch of acid in her voice.

"We hadn't really talked about making our relationship public," Yu said, surprised at Sakamoto's reaction. He had expected something much...well, much more homophobic.

"Despite how uncomfortable your questions made me at the time," Yusuke added, "that was what pushed us to have the conversation, so I thank you for that opportunity."

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess?"

The door chimed again as they sat down next to Futaba, who was already hyperfocused again on whatever she was rapidly typing away at. "Sorry we're late!" Haru chirped as she and Makoto hurried in.

"Student council business," Makoto said apologetically. "I told Haru she didn't need to wait for me."

"It's not like we were going to start the meeting without you," Akira said, eyeing the latte art he had just attempted with disdain before setting the cup in front of Yu. "It was supposed to be a cat."

Yu looked down at the foam, which had what just looked like a wavering oval drawn in it. "I'm sure you'll get it with practice."

Once Akira had made coffee for everyone who wanted some, they started discussing tactics, Futaba and Makoto offering what information they had about Shido to try to shed light on what they could potentially expect inside the Palace. "Even with all the research we've done, there's still a ton we don't know," Futaba said dejectedly. "He's very smart with how he conducts his shady business. I feel like we might be the only loose ends he hasn't somehow managed to tie up."

"Which is why I want to get in and get out as quickly as we safely can," Akira said, his usually easygoing demeanor uncharacteristically serious.

"Do you think we should split up to cover ground more quickly inside the Palace?" Yusuke asked.

Akira pursed his lips. "Makoto, what are your thoughts?"

Makoto sighed, drumming her fingertips on the booth table. "Either way has risks and rewards," she said slowly. "If we split up, we have no party flexibility. If one elemental weakness is predominant, one group will be much more reliant on their Wild Card than the other. But we could cover twice as much ground in the same amount of time. If we stay together, we'll go slower, but resource usage will be evened out, we can switch people in and out of battle as needed...I would say that's the more cautious play."

"We've never noticed any difference in any of our other targets when we've been partially through infiltrations, have we?" Ann asked. "Kamoshida was still the same arrogant, sexist douchebag right up until he confessed."

"My apologies," Yusuke said, shaking his head. "I fear I was too preoccupied with my own mental state when we were infiltrating Madarame's Palace to have noticed whether his behavior changed."

"We didn't know Kaneshiro, nor were we around him much before or during the infiltration." Makoto gestured, frustrated.

"I'm not a good example because I knew what was happening," Futaba said. "But for what it's worth, I don't think there was a change. I was still hearing the voices in my head telling me I had killed my mom."

An expression of deep sorrow passed over Akira's face at her words.

"My father spent most of his time in business meetings during our infiltration," Haru said. "When he was home, he spoke only of my engagement. He became more insistent on the subject, but that may have just been coincidental."

"Sis did get much more short-tempered during our infiltration," Makoto mused, "but that may have just been because of the pressure that was being applied to her, irrespective of our presence in her cognitive world."

"So all we have is circumstantial evidence that doesn't really tell us anything conclusive," Akira summarized.

Morgana looked up from the chair he was lazily curled up in. "Remember, too, Palaces signify the part of a person that they don't want to fully acknowledge. Even if they're aware of it, there's still a barrier there. I think."

"But again, we don't know how much Shido knows from the research he stole," Futaba said bitterly. "And we don't know what he knows that we might not. My mom  _ researched _ this. We're blundering through like high schoolers having sex for the first time."

"Guess we should use protection, then," Akira quipped. "We'll stay together unless there's a compelling reason for us to split up. I'd rather keep the flexibility."

They chatted for a bit longer before everyone split up to go home, promising to meet up and go into Shido's Palace after school the next day. Yusuke stayed behind to ask Akira something. Just as Yu was about to unlock the door into the apartment building, he heard a voice calling out behind him.

"Narukami!"

He turned to see Sakamoto hurrying towards him, coming to a stop and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yes?"

"Look." Sakamoto scuffed the ground with his shoe. "I feel real bad about buggin' you and Yusuke so much. I really didn't know it was like that for you two. And, y'know, now that I look back on it, Akira'd been tryin' to shut me up for ages, but I didn't pick up the hint. So, uh, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for bein' such an ass. I really was just tryin' to make friends, but God knows I suck at talkin' to people, and then I got frustrated because it was like ten times harder to figure out how to talk to you two than anybody else, and I'm sorry."

Out of all the conversations he was expecting to have today, this was not one of them, but it was a welcome surprise. "I...thank you, Ryuji." The name felt weird, but so was the fact that he used a last name only for him and not for any of the other Phantom Thieves.

"Can we make a deal? I'll try to think more about what I'm sayin', if you'll promise to call me out if I say somethin' dumb and insensitive to you."

"I think I can agree to that."

Sakamoto -- no, Ryuji -- held out his hand. "Shake on it." They shook hands firmly, and then Ryuji shoved his hand back into his pocket. "All right. I gotta scoot or my mom'll get worried. See ya!"

_ Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to the truth...Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Chariot Arcana... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throwaway conversation about how deep Mementos is turned into far too much research about reasonable estimates for how deep Mementos potentially goes and how deep humans have gone. The gold mine they're talking about is the [Mponeng Gold Mine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mponeng_Gold_Mine) in South Africa.


	15. Loose Ends and Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: character death.

The ship that made up Shido's Palace was massive. They worked slowly through it, repeatedly trying and failing to weasel letters of recommendation out of different influential Shadows without fighting, and each time still having to engage in combat before receiving the letter.

"Oh thank goodness, a safe room!"

Ann was the first one to spot the cognitive distortions shimmering around a nearby door, and they all piled gratefully into it. Futaba threw herself down on the couch inside the lavish stateroom, groaning. "We've been in here for  _ hours." _

Akira nodded, pushing his mask up and rubbing his face. "Yup."

"My feet hurt," Ryuji complained.

"Yup."

"I wish I had brought water," Yusuke said plaintively.

"Yup."

"Do you know any other words?" Yu asked.

"Yup!"

They all laughed, the dejected atmosphere lifting somewhat. Akira dug in his pockets, tossing each of them a small candy. "Here, this should help restore your energy. Got them from Takemi."

"Oh, good, they'll only kill us a little," Futaba groaned, but popped hers into her mouth and chewed it immediately.

"How much more is there, Oracle?" Makoto asked.

Futaba lazily tapped the invisible control panel in front of her as she swallowed. "Honestly, pretty much just the engine room. We've explored everywhere else."

"Wonder when the cleaner will show up again," Akira mused. "It'd be really nice if he'd show up right after this safe room."

"Wouldn't that be convenient," Futaba said, arm dropping down onto the couch. "Though we  _ have _ caused a lot of chaos. Maybe he'll have decided he can't leave us alone any longer."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Makoto asked, clearly on edge.

Akira held up a hand, fingers splayed out. "Five minutes, Queen. Let's catch our breath first."

She sighed, but sat down at the nearby table.

When they emerged a few minutes later, Futaba immediately picked up a reading. "I think our cleaner's in the engine room. I'm picking up some pretty strong Shadows down there."

"Well, let's go fail to talk him into peacefully giving us a recommendation letter," Akira said, turning down the hallway.

Futaba directed them around, through some vents, and finally down into the engine room. Akira leapt down in front of the group of thugs that the cleaner had accumulated, and after a brief conversation, they fought their way through.

The cleaner eyed them with a look of impatience when they cornered him. "All right, punks, you got business with me?"

"How much for a letter of introduction?" Akira asked lazily.

The cleaner snorted. "Why would I give  _ you _ a letter?"

"In exchange for a...new tattoo design!" Ann said, the words tumbling out, and her eyes widened as if she'd given no thought to what she was saying.

"Yeah, this one's a world-class artist," Ryuji said, jabbing his thumb towards Yusuke.

Yusuke glared at him. "I have no intention of designing a simple tattoo."

"Oh, come  _ on." _

"What're you kids squabbling about? You gonna do it or not? Or are you all talk, art boy?"

Yusuke drew himself up to his full height. "I am not all talk. I can draw anything you want. Bring me a brush and paper."

The cleaner snapped his fingers, and one of his lackeys scampered off. "I won't accept anything but a godly phoenix befitting my godly personality."

"I would prefer to draw something else," Yusuke muttered, but started working nonetheless.

It was a few tense minutes as he drew, black ink taking shape in stark curves. "I am finished." He held up the paper for the cleaner to inspect. "This is my perception of a phoenix."

"Ain't seen nothing like this before." The man nodded in satisfaction. "I like it."

"Thank you."

The man dug in his coat pocket and tossed an envelope at Yusuke, who easily caught it in his gloved hand. "Your letter, kid. You wanna take Shido down, have at it. I know when to cut my losses. See ya."

The cleaner threw his jacket over his shoulder and sauntered out. The Phantom Thieves stared after him. "Guess that goes to show that even Shido's unconscious thinks his allies will turn against him at the slightest provocation," Akira muttered. "Must be lonely at the top."

"That's what happens when you're a piece of shit person," Ryuji said. "If you ever got into politics, I'd beat the crap outta you if you got like him."

"The sentiment is appreciated, but maybe try talking to me first?"

"That's all the letters of recommendation," Makoto said. "We should secure our infiltration route and retreat for the day."

"You should, but you won't."

A chillingly familiar voice came from above them, just loud enough to be heard, and suddenly Akechi had landed noiselessly in front of them. "Long time no see."

"Why's he here?!" Futaba exclaimed.

Akira held a hand out behind him, stepping forward. "Crow."

Akechi's eyes flickered away from Futaba, focusing on Akira. "You truly are interesting. Under different circumstances, we might have even been friends."

"It's not too late for that."

Akechi threw back his head and laughed, sounding slightly unhinged. "After all that I've done, you would still offer friendship? Don't make me laugh."

"I mean it. Everyone deserves a second chance."

For a moment, Akechi looked sad, but it was soon replaced with a slightly mad sneer. "But you could never offer me that which I truly desire."

"Why are you working with someone as horrible as Shido?" Makoto exclaimed.

_ "Working with? _ You misunderstand. I'm only doing what I need to for him to acknowledge me as his son...and then I will get my revenge on him."

"Shido is your  _ father?" _ Yusuke asked, and Yu could tell his eyes were wide with horror even behind his kitsune mask.

"I'm his bastard child, yes." The unnatural gleam of madness seemed to grow brighter in his eyes. "And my plan is so close to coming to fruition. Once Shido wins the election, I will tell him the truth of who I really am. And then I will kill him. And you  _ will not get in my way!" _

"Joker, watch out!" Morgana yelled, and Akira sprang backwards as two creatures were summoned very near where he had been standing.

Akechi's voice rang out above their howls. "You must be curious how the psychotic breakdowns happened. Allow me to show you." A dark Persona, different from the one he had used when he had fought alongside them in Sae's Palace, manifested behind him.

"Queen! Mona! Fox! With me!" Akira shouted.

Yu didn't recognize the spell Akechi used, but suddenly the Shadows' eyes gleamed red and they leapt forward. One of them knocked Morgana down as it broke through the front line of defense.

"No elemental weaknesses!" Futaba, quick as always, transmitted through Prometheus.

"Brute force it is," Yu muttered, letting loose an Agidyne.

Somehow, Akechi had disappeared in the fight, but he dropped back down once the two psychotic Shadows were gone. "I didn't expect you to be bested by those, of course," he said, smirking. "I just wanted to give you a sense of what I am capable of. I wouldn't give up the chance to kill you with my own two hands."

And then it was chaos again. Akechi was vastly outnumbered, but he fought like a man with nothing to lose. Yu caught a glimpse of Akira's face and knew he was holding back, still holding out hope that he could somehow bring Akechi to do the right thing.

"I would hardly call this a fair fight," Akechi called, sidestepping Akira's Kougaon spell. "Allow me to even out the numbers a touch."

"Spark, look out!" Futaba screeched, and suddenly Yu's vision glassed over as ice froze solid around him, within him, and he couldn't think --

His Persona was weak to ice, and as the spell ended, he fell to his knees and collapsed forward, still feeling frozen. Akechi couldn't use ice spells and there were no other enemies on the field, so how -- ?

Hands grabbed him and roughly flipped him over, wrapping themselves around his neck before he could register what was happening. Above him --

_ No...! _

He struggled weakly, numb fingers prying uselessly at Yusuke's hands. The kitsune mask had disappeared somewhere, and Yusuke's normally gray eyes were orbs of pure darkness, tinged with a reddish smoke. Somehow, the chill from his hands was noticeable even through the aftereffects of the Bufudyne spell as they pressed into Yu's throat.

He wanted to cry out, to struggle, but all he could do was stare into that psychotic darkness as his vision started to fade --

A blast of searing heat passed close to him and suddenly Yusuke was thrown off of him, screaming in pain. Coughing and gasping for breath, Yu realized Ann had rushed over to protect him. The feeling was slowly coming back into his extremities, so he struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth against the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome him.

The scene was not good. Ann and Yusuke were locked in combat, each dancing away from the other's spells, but it was clear that whoever managed to land a hit first would be the winner. Morgana was using one of their precious spirit beads so he could continue healing the party through Akechi's relentless assault, unable to get any hits in of his own. Ryuji was crumpled against a wall. Only Akira, Makoto, and Haru were directly engaging Akechi in the fight, and Akechi was definitely a match for the three of them.

Summoning the last of his strength, Yu directed another Agidyne at Akechi.

"Ah!"

Akechi's momentary distraction was enough. Three spells shot simultaneously at him and he crumpled.  _ "Damn it!" _

"It's over," Akira said, and though Yu couldn't see his face, he could imagine the look of regret and pain on it. “You don't have to fight us, Akechi. We're going after the same person. We're on the same side."

"Shut up, shut up,  _ shut up!" _

Somehow Akechi was on his feet again. "Teammates? Friends? To hell with that. To hell with all of you. How do you think you're better than me? How do you have things I don't?"

"Look inside yourself."

"Don't give me that cliché bullshit!"

An aura of intense power surrounded Akechi. "I might have to actually try my hardest against you!"

"What's happening?" Ann shrieked, as a sinister red light filled the engine room. Behind her, Yusuke was lying motionless.  _ Hope that was enough to break the effect of the psychosis... _

"He made  _ himself _ go psychotic!" Haru cried out, as the red light coalesced around Akechi and solidified into an outfit dark as night.

"He's immune to physical attacks right now!" Futaba yelled.

Morgana's healing magic coursed through Yu, and while his throat was still aching, he leapt forward to join the battle.

"Spark! Can you rez Skull?"

He shuffled through his Personas, pulling out one with Recarm, but the spell fizzled when he tried to cast it. "Only if I use a bead."

"Do it, then!"

Yu grabbed a bead out his pocket, crushing it in his hand to regain some small amount of energy, before casting the revival spell. Ryuji groaned, but shook off the effects of cognitive death quickly and rejoined the battle. Yu readied another Recarm --

"Leave Fox," Akira ordered. "We don't know if the psychosis is still affecting him and we can't risk it right now."

Frustrated, Yu obeyed, instead joining the fight with Akechi.

For all the additional strength the psychosis had lent Akechi, his ability to strategize had decreased significantly, and through their combined efforts, they brought him down quickly. This time, when he collapsed, he did not get back up, looking balefully up at them from the ground.

"You ready to call it quits?" Ryuji asked, sounding more tired and sad than angry.

Akechi lowered his head. "I know...I've had enough. You're all so lucky...to be surrounded by teammates...who acknowledge you....And once Shido confesses his crimes...you'll all be heroes. All of my past accomplishments -- my past deductions were just charade. No one will trust me. In the end...I couldn't be special."

"You already are special," Akira said. "You have the same power that Spark and I have. We only defeated you by teaming up."

"But because you went through life alone, the power you awakened was fueled by lies and hate," Futaba said softly.

Yu knew he should pay attention to what was happening in front of him, but Yusuke was still lying motionless on the ground where Ann had left him, and a buzzing feeling of panic was threatening to overtake him if he didn't find out if the psychosis had been lifted. He retrieved Yusuke's mask from where it had fallen earlier before kneeling down next to him, carefully opening one eyelid. For whatever it was worth, the glassy eye that stared unseeingly upwards was gray again, not black.

A shot rang out, and Yu whipped around just in time to see the bulkhead door slide closed between them and Akechi. There was some shouting and then two more muffled shots rang out.

"His signal is...gone..." Futaba looked distraught.

Akira turned away from the wall, closing his eyes and bowing his head, but when he looked at them again, he had once again assumed the mantle of leader. "We need to secure our infiltration route and get out of here. Spark, revive Fox; Panther, be ready to cast Agidyne if he's still turned against us."

Again nearing the end of his strength, Yu cast Recarm, and Yusuke stirred, groaning before his eyelids fluttered open, mercifully appearing to be back to his true self. "What...happened?"

Akira shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Akechi is no longer a threat to us, we have all our letters of recommendation, and now we need to get to where the Treasure is so we have our infiltration route. Ready?"

Thanks to the magic of safe rooms, it was a short path to the large legislative chamber where the Treasure drifted in incorporeal form. There was none of the usual celebrating, though. They all stared at it for a minute, until Akira turned away. "Let's go home. I can't be here anymore right now."

The way home was deathly quiet. Even Ryuji was silent, staring down at his shoes as they rode the train back to Shibuya. Akira's eyes were closed and he had taken off his glasses, looking ten years older. Futaba was curled up into a ball on the seat, hugging her legs with one arm and petting Morgana with the other hand, who actually for once seemed to be appreciating it. Ann, Makoto, and Haru huddled together against the cold, whether real or existential. Yusuke's hand was tightly grasping Yu's, hidden between their jackets.

"We need to take a break for tomorrow," Akira said as they stood in Shibuya before departing for their separate trains. "Rest up, recuperate, do whatever you need to do. But unless we are just flat-out incapable of doing so, we need to send the calling card the day after. I don't want to take any chances."

They all nodded in tired agreement.

"Okay. Thanks, all of you. This nightmare is finally coming to a close because of all of you."

The train back to Yongen-jaya was not very crowded this late in the day, so they were all able to sit near each other. Akira turned to address Yu and Yusuke. "I already asked Sojiro if he could make curry for all of us. I'm sure neither of you want to cook. You're welcome to come over for dinner if you're up for it. Otherwise you can take some curry home to eat there."

Yu exchanged a look with Yusuke, who looked absolutely spent, then answered. "I think we'll just take some home."

Akira nodded, turning back around and putting a comforting arm around Futaba, who still looked tense.

When they arrived at Leblanc, Sakura looked concerned, but didn't ask any questions, packing up curry at Yu's request and telling them the cafe would be closed after school tomorrow, so they were free to come over as they wished.

Dinner, showering in turns, and crawling into bed were all quiet, both of them too exhausted to talk much. Yu fell asleep almost instantly, stirring only to put an arm around Yusuke as he laid down next to him.

What felt like mere seconds later, he opened his eyes, groggily trying to figure out what had awakened him. At some point he had rolled over in his sleep, facing the wall.

"Mm."

A quiet groan sounded next to him and he carefully shifted so he could see Yusuke without waking him. Yusuke's breathing was fast and shallow and he was moving around restlessly, clearly in the clutches of a nightmare. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat, a highly unusual state for the ice-wielder. Yu debated whether he should wake him --

"No -- no -- "

"Yusuke."

Yu grasped Yusuke's hands, letting the blankets fall off as he knelt next to him. Yusuke thrashed around for another moment before his eyes flew open, darting around wildly. "Yusuke, it's okay. I'm right here."

Those eyes focused on his and Yusuke relaxed for just a moment before sitting up and clinging tightly to Yu, who returned the embrace. It was so unusual for him to be the one giving comfort after a nightmare, rather than receiving it, that all he could think to do was rub slow, soothing circles on Yusuke's back as he felt tears dampening the shoulder of his shirt where Yusuke had buried his face. "Is that what really happened? What I couldn't remember and what Akira wouldn’t explain?"

"I -- I don't know what you just dreamed, so -- "

"I attacked you," Yusuke said bluntly, breaking away from the embrace. "Targeted your weakness and tried to strangle you to death. And I didn't think twice about what I was doing. How could you let me stay here? What if that happens again? If -- "

_ "Yusuke."  _ Yu waited until Yusuke had snapped his mouth shut. "Akechi used his power on you to make you go psychotic. You weren't in your right mind. It's no different than those times Ann got brainwashed by Shadows, except Akechi was ten times stronger. Status effects don't persist through death. You're fine now." He sighed when Yusuke still looked unconvinced. "Come here." When Yusuke didn't move, he scooted closer instead, wrapping his arms around Yusuke again. "Do you think you would feel this horrified now if you had actually  _ wanted _ to do what you did? Of course not. I know you better than that."

After what seemed like an eternity, Yusuke finally sighed, letting the tension drain from his body. "Thank you."

Yu kissed his cheek softly. "Do you want to try going back to sleep now?" he asked, and he felt Yusuke nod. When they laid back down, he pulled Yusuke close, arm around his waist, his face nuzzled close to the back of Yusuke’s neck. They normally didn't cuddle like this at night, but Yusuke seemed to welcome the physical contact, snuggling backwards so his back was pressed to Yu's chest. Both of them drifted back off to sleep shortly, finding comfort in the other's presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I end a quarter of my chapters with something along the lines of "and they drifted off to sleep". x_x


	16. Finals, Failures, and Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: nudity.

The days between Shido's defeat and the election were tense, to put it lightly. The Phantom Thieves chat was unusually silent, their group meetings nonexistent. Yu's literature teacher handed him back a paper with a grade of 73% on it, pursing her lips and shaking her head. Yusuke had shut himself in his dorm for all his free time, working on a painting for the end of the term, so Yu spent the evenings he wasn't working at the movie theater studying at Leblanc.

"I can't believe there's been  _ nothing," _ Ann groaned, slumping over the booth table on election night. Without any advance planning, all of the Phantom Thieves had just ended up at Leblanc after school, absolutely unable to focus on anything else. Even Makoto's sister had shown up, well-manicured fingers tapping away at her work laptop. At Ann's words, she looked up.

"There are many people in Shido's circle who have an extremely vested interest in covering up anything suspicious. Sadly, I would be more surprised if there  _ had _ been an announcement of any sort."

"Polling results are not looking good," Futaba said, face drawn with worry. "I know it's still early, but he's currently winning by a landslide."

"I mean, that's not really a surprise," Akira said, running his hand through his unruly hair. "He's said all the right things in addition to manipulating the public's cognition. Without any sort of confession, why  _ wouldn't _ people vote for him?"

The hours passed at a crawl. Results started coming in on the news. Precinct after precinct went to Shido, until they were all staring despairingly at each other. There was a big difference between thinking something this awful was likely to occur and being confronted with the harsh reality of it actually occurring.

"Shido will be giving his victory speech in a half hour," Futaba said in a lifeless voice from behind her laptop. "Guess we'll see if the change of heart worked then."

Sae, who had long since given up the pretense of working, looked solemnly at the television. "Even if it does, Shido had many powerful associates. Only time will tell if his fall alone is enough."

"You mean -- we mighta gone through all that for nothing?" Ryuji demanded. Sae did not answer.

Shido's confession was the same as all the rest -- spill details of past crimes, cry, ask for forgiveness -- but the attitude of the newscasters when they cut away from the feed was extremely unconcerned, and after a brief discussion of the coalition that would take control of the government in Shido's stead while he recuperated from his "illness", they had turned to mundane topics.

"That was...underwhelming," Makoto said.

Akira let out a sigh. "Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens."

"Don't forget we have finals this week, as well."

Ryuji groaned. "In the middle of all this shit?"

"Time waits for no one, Ryuji."

"At least that gives us something to think about while we figure out what to do next," Akira said. "Study up, everyone. Don't want to have failed exams on your list of things to worry about."

* * *

The next week passed in a haze of exams and studying, including one night where Yu accidentally fell asleep in Yusuke's dorm room when they'd gone up there to study and lost track of time. The final bell on the last day of exams was the most glorious sound Yu had heard in ages, though it was tempered by the teacher's reminder to continue studying for entrance exams. He hurried outside, the cold winter air refreshing after the stifling atmosphere of the classroom, and waited for Yusuke. Bits and pieces of conversation reached him as students passed, eager to get home.

" -- you hear? The inauguration was postponed."

"Apparently he was overworked through the election campaign -- "

He frowned.

" -- about the Phantom Thieves?"

"Who? Oh, them. They -- "

" -- probably just acting out and looking for attention."

"Yu?"

Yu jumped, whirling around to see Yusuke behind him. "Hi."

"You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Let's -- let's just go. I'm just...on edge. From the exams."

He prayed to any god that would listen that Yusuke would understand what he was trying to say with his poor lie and what he was sure was a slightly panicked expression. To his relief, Yusuke did not press for details.

"Of course. Shall we acquire some coffee?"

"Yes. Let's do that."

As the train to Shibuya started, both their phones buzzed. Makoto was asking everyone to meet at Leblanc as soon as they could. They stared at each other, unable to put their fears into words, as the train news sounded calmly overhead.

" -- charismatic leader, has been hospitalized, and his closest associates are working to solidify his coalition -- "

"Oh, good," a man next to them said to his companion, "I was afraid they would try to step aside."

"For sure! What would this country do without Shido?"

"I feel sick," Yusuke whispered faintly, color draining from his face.

It was the longest train ride from Kosei to Yongen-jaya that Yu had ever undertaken. When they finally hurried up to the door of Leblanc, ignoring the Closed sign as always and entering, it was as if they had entered the hospital room of a dying person. Sakura was pretending to do business as usual, wiping dishes behind the counter, but Yu was pretty sure he had been wiping down the same plate for several minutes. Futaba was in her trademark crouch, hugging her legs with her hands. The Shujin students were in various positions betraying the frustration and anxiety they each felt.

"Sis has been taken off the case," Makoto said by way of introduction when the two of them had taken off their jackets. "Apparently the new SIU director told her she should settle down and find a husband instead of continuing her career, and brought up her rumored ties to the Phantom Thieves."

"They're saying Shido may need to undergo a psychiatric evaluation," Ann said, scrolling through headlines on her phone.

"We know he doesn’t need a  _ psychiatric evaluation!" _ Haru exclaimed, in a rare display of frustration.

"His lackeys must have pressured the others around him," Sakura said through gritted teeth, finally setting the plate down. "Means there are a lot more people in trouble if the truth comes out than we had imagined."

"Did -- did we -- fail?" Makoto asked, voice quivering.

"Isn't there  _ anything _ we can do?" Ann asked desperately.

Akira swallowed. "We changed Shido's heart. That's what we set out to do. That's all we _knew_ to do."

"But that is insufficient. The conspiracy is too widespread." There was a pronounced note of despair in Yusuke's voice.

"Sis said there may still be a chance if the general public wants to see Shido held accountable -- "

"But they've even taken control of the media!" Yu waved his hand jerkily at the TV. "How can we expect the general public to demand the right thing when they're being force-fed this bullshit?"

"Even people online are criticizing us," Futaba said. "They're saying to 'catch them and execute them'."

"And with the way we did the calling card for Shido, that makes it much easier to track us down," Makoto said quietly. "It wouldn't take a genius to count how many people were in that video, make connections to the other cases, see us in the Shibuya walkway, and make assumptions from there. Some of the students have been suspicious of how all of us became friends anyway."

"It's only a matter of time, then," Akira said quietly.

They all looked towards the door, as if expecting cops to charge in and arrest them at that moment.

"So now what do we do?" Ann asked, voice strained.

Morgana was lying on the counter, head between his paws. "We only have one real option: change the cognition of the general public."

All eyes focused on him. "You mean Mementos?" Yu asked.

"Think about it. We've had a new area open up to us after every Palace, even when our reputation was at an all-time low, and I still sensed an area below us when we reached the bottom of the area that unlocked after Sae's Palace. I think the answer is down there. We have to find it. That's our only choice."

"You think there's a Treasure down there?" Makoto asked shrewdly. "And if we go after it -- "

"If Mementos collapses, that would affect the public as a whole. If that changes people's cognition so they want to hold Shido accountable for his actions, then things might start going our way."

"Let's do it, then," Ryuji said hotly, standing up.

"You all need to understand something first," Morgana said, cutting him off. "We don't know  _ why _ there's a cognitive world that takes physical form like it does. That's probably what the Treasure of Mementos is. And if we destroy that...we'll be destroying the Metaverse."

"We won't be able to change people's hearts anymore," Haru said sadly.

Akira sipped his coffee. "Can't change people's hearts from prison, either. Or the grave, if the Internet trolls get their way."

"I think we need to do this." Ann was quiet, but she looked up from her seat with resolve.

Morgana looked at Akira. "What do you think? As our leader?"

Akira’s cup clinked into its saucer. "We have to. For our justice."

"We don't have much time. We should carry this out tomorrow."

Nods and sounds of assent swept around the group.

Akira nodded. "Okay, then. Take care of anything you need to tonight. Meet at Shibuya tomorrow right after school."

"We're still goin' to school?!" Ryuji asked incredulously.

"Yes. I'd rather not raise suspicion on all of us if we don't have to, in case we get into Mementos and don't end up being able to do anything."

"Feels like everything would just be a lost cause at that point," Ann muttered, "but sure."

When Yu walked out with Yusuke, he drew in a deep breath of the cold outside air. "What's wrong?" Yusuke asked.

The air blew out in a puff of steam. "The waiting and not knowing is the worst part." Nanako, hooked up to a million machines in the hospital and quietly fighting for her life, flashed unbidden through his mind. He shook his head violently. "I just hope we can find the answer in Mementos."

_ It is quite unusual to have two Tricksters as guests at the same time. Perhaps, together, you can save this world from ruin....You are being given a second chance. One, perhaps, you did not want. _

"Are you all right? You look like you're about to faint."

_ You intrigue me, Wild Card. _

"Izanami..." Yu pressed his hands to his face, digging his fingertips into his forehead.

"Izanami? What about her?"

"This is...it's too similar..."

When had Yusuke put his hands on Yu's shoulders? Yu lowered his arms, staring at Yusuke as the implications of what he'd said sank in for both of them. If a being like Izanami were behind all this...

"You -- we -- we're going to -- "

"I don't want to stand out here anymore."

Yu stumbled away from Yusuke's wide-eyed stuttering, seizing one of the artist's hands and blindly pulling him along. He couldn't think about this anymore, couldn't think about Izanami and the fog and red tile and darkness and Rise's screams and Yosuke's determined eyes --

He had no memory of walking into his apartment, but suddenly they were in the genkan and they were holding each other tightly, Yusuke stroking his hair with slow, comforting touches. He let the fingers of his right hand curl around the fabric of Yusuke's jacket, the slight coarseness grounding him in reality. "Better to do this now instead of tomorrow, I guess," he mumbled, voice muffled into Yusuke's shoulder.

A low hum was the only reply.

"I don't want to lose you."

"You won't."

"You can't say that for sure, look what happened with -- "

Yusuke pulled away just enough to place his hand on Yu's chest, over his heart. "Believe in yourself. Believe in  _ us. _ No matter what some soulless, friendless demon-goddess may desire, we fight for truth. For justice. For those who cannot fight. For each other. What could possibly stand in our way?"

"You sound like Akira."

"Perhaps. A touch of confidence cannot hurt right now, though, wouldn't you say?"

"God, you're beautiful."

Yusuke closed his eyes and smiled at the compliment.

It was an odd sort of evening, feeling as if their lives were hanging in the balance. Yu kept picking up things and putting them down, unable to focus on any one thing for more than a few minutes. Yusuke kept touching his pencil to his sketchbook, biting his lip, glancing up at Yu and back down at the paper without making any move to draw.

Finally, he looked up at Yu, a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. "This...may be a bit of an odd request given the timing, but...may I draw...you?"

Yu tilted his head, not failing to notice the slight emphasis Yusuke put on the word 'you'. "Of course. Since when do you ask permission to draw me?"

The tinge blossomed into a full rosy blush, and Yusuke seemed somehow...nervous? Apprehensive? "I meant... _ you." _ He ducked his head, looking at the floor rather than directly at Yu, more flustered than Yu had ever seen him. "I would like to draw you nude."

The words spilled out in a rush, as if he were afraid he would lose his nerve if it took him too long to say, and Yu felt color coming into his cheeks to match Yusuke's. "Oh." He pushed his glasses up on his face. "Um. O-okay. Sure."

Yusuke mumbled something indistinct to the floor.

Yu took a guess at what he was trying to say. "No, that's fine. I -- it's -- unexpected and caught me off guard, that's all." He tried to put the pieces of his normally calm demeanor back together. "How do you -- how should I pose?"

"How you sit in the window seat when you're watching me paint." Yusuke, too, seemed to be picking his composure up off the floor.

For some reason, Yu felt compelled to fold up his clothing as he removed it, as if simply tossing the items behind the futon out of sight would disrupt something in the atmosphere, setting his glasses down on top of the stack of clothes before shyly shuffling to the window seat -- thanking his lucky stars that the curtains had already been drawn earlier in the evening, because he had forgotten all about that until just then -- and trying to arrange himself in the most natural way he could.

The sound of Yusuke's drawing was soothing, as always, and despite the novelty of the situation, Yu found himself relaxing into the cushions, smiling softly as he watched the artist work. Yusuke's eyes flickered from paper to model and back, pencil smoothly flowing across the page, and while his cheeks were still slightly pink, he, too, seemed to be much less tense than he had been when making his original request.

Finally, he put his sketchbook down, pushing his hair back behind his ear before crossing the room and perching on the edge of the window seat next to Yu, who froze as if Bufudyne had been cast upon him. Yusuke's cool hands touched his bare shoulders, and he inhaled sharply through his nose as lips pressed feather-light on his own. The pleasant chill he had come to associate with his boyfriend traveled the length of his body, and he trembled, entranced by Yusuke's spell, feeling more vulnerable than he had ever felt before.

He blinked his eyes open as Yusuke sat back up, almost disoriented by the sudden lack of contact, and he noticed Yusuke's fingers were fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. "You don't have to do that if you don't want to," he said softly.

Yusuke held his gaze, lips parting in a smile so full of emotion that Yu felt breathless. "I know." The deep purple shirt slipped off his pale shoulders, dropping to the floor behind him, and as it did, he suddenly looked nervous again. "I -- I still don't want to -- to -- you know." He looked away again, hair falling down to obscure his eyes, tripping over his words for the second time that night. "But I -- I've never loved anyone before, and...I want to know w-what it feels like to -- to touch and be -- " he pressed his hands to his face -- "oh, this is embarrassing."

Yu gently pried Yusuke's hands away from his face, holding them in his own. "I love you so much," he whispered, wishing he could somehow capture the swirl of emotions in Yusuke's gray eyes so he could look back on it forever. "Promise you'll tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable."

Yusuke nodded, slowly reaching out and placing his hand over Yu's heart as Yu slipped his fingers into Yusuke's hair, pulling him in for another kiss before letting his fingers trace down his back. As he touched near his waistband, Yusuke suddenly giggled into his lips. Yu smirked. "Ticklish?"

"N-no..." Yusuke squirmed in a hopeless fit of giggles as Yu continued lightly dancing his fingertips along Yusuke's lower back, stopping suddenly as Yusuke’s breath fluttered across his ear, feeling his own breath catch in his throat, instinct and hormones taking over for a moment as he undid the button on Yusuke's pants --

A quick inhale, an almost imperceptible stiffening, then Yusuke relaxed against him again with an "it's okay" breathed into his ear, and after waiting another moment to make sure Yusuke was confident in his consent, Yu slipped the clothes off before just wrapping his arms around the other.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, skin to skin, embracing each other, before Yusuke pulled him to his feet and into another kiss, tilting his head and letting their tongues meet, and Yu pressed closer into him, slipping a little between his legs --

Yusuke made a noise that could best be described as a squeak, stepping back just slightly, face flaming red as he glanced down and immediately off to the side. "Sorry," he mumbled, all pretense of composure gone. "I suppose I wasn't expecting to...turn you on so quickly."

"Oh." Yu dropped his hands, attempting to hide the incriminating evidence. "Sorry. I'm -- very attracted to you."

Yusuke laughed awkwardly, looking back up to Yu's face. "It's fine...I understand it on a conceptual level, I merely...was not prepared for the actuality," he admitted.

"That's completely fine," Yu assured him immediately. Still covering himself, he bit his lip. "I'm, uh, going to go take care of this."

"You have two hands?" Yusuke quipped.

"Oh. Good. You remember that conversation. I'm going to go take care of this  _ and _ die of shame."

When he emerged from the bathroom, Yusuke had crawled into the futon, so he joined him there and turned slightly towards the wall, unsure whether Yusuke wanted space between them. Cool limbs soon wrapped themselves around him, though, and Yusuke nuzzled his face into the back of Yu's neck. "Never thought I'd be little spoon," Yu joked, resting a hand on Yusuke's arm.

"Hush and go to sleep," came the amused and slightly muffled reply.


	17. The Depths of Mementos

They stood in front of the wall at the end of the lowest train station.

"Is it just me, or is it freezing in here?" Futaba said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Probably just nerves," Akira said soothingly. "Let's get this over with."

He waited for everyone to nod before turning to face the wall, extending one gloved hand and pressing his palm firmly to the stone.

"There it goes," Makoto said, as the strange lines on the stone glowed brighter and its pieces rotated smoothly out of their way.

"Just like the other ones, huh?" Ryuji said. "Not excitin' at all."

"The lack of unforeseen circumstances is nothing to complain about in our situation." The tail of Yusuke's costume swished behind him.

"I know, I know..."

Ann gasped as they descended into the next floor. Where the previous stations had been run-of-the-mill train stops, this one was far more grandiose. Spidery veins pulsed on the floor and the train tracks were still made of bones, but graceful arches held up the ceiling far above them.

"Look at all the people," Futaba said, her voice hushed. "So...the people we saw getting on the train at the entrance..."

"Is this where they were trying to reach?" Yusuke's eyes were wide behind his mask.

"Through this wall?" Akira asked uncertainly. "But how are we -- "

As they approached the ornate wall at the other end of the terminal, parts of it rose up, showing the glowing red room beyond.

"I bet that's the depths ahead," Morgana said, looking as serious as Yu had ever seen him.

"Hold on." Futaba was doing something with her hands in midair, on the control panel that was only visible to her. "The door only opens from this side."

"What do you mean?" Ann's voice was much higher than normal.

"Once we go in, we're not coming out."

"And -- and all these people -- "

"They're choosing a life of imprisonment?" Haru looked horrified. "But why?"

"We'll find out once we reach the bottom," Morgana said. "Come on. Let's go."

Akira held up a hand. "Wait." He waited until all eyes were on him before speaking again. "This is the point of no return. We don't know what's in there, and if what Oracle says is true, once we cross this threshold, we may not be able to come back. I hope like hell that when we steal the Treasure, we can leave...but we've never encountered anything like this before. If you have any reservations, now is the time to act on them. No shame. No judgement."

"Like hell I'm not goin' in with you." Ryuji was the first to speak, striding over to Akira. "The world those bastards want ain't worth livin' in, so I'll either help fix it or die tryin'."

Ann was slightly less bombastic in her declaration, but she too stepped forward. "When this all started with Kamoshida, I kind of thought it might end like this. I'm with you to the very end."

"I couldn't live with myself if I abandoned you now." Futaba's voice quavered and maybe her knees did too, but she walked forward as well.

"I don't want my father to have died in vain," Haru said resolutely.

Makoto's face hardened. "There's no place for me in their world. I'm in."

Yu looked meaningfully at Yusuke, who nodded slightly. "Without the Phantom Thieves, I'd have nothing. I may have failed in Inaba, but I don't intend to fail again." He stepped forward.

Yusuke took his hand as he, too, stepped forward with a deadly serious expression. "You all have taught me how to see the beauty in the world, even in humanity's suffering. I could not willingly cast away such a precious gift out of wretched cowardice."

Akira's head was high, his eyes smoldering embers behind his mask. "Then let's go."

True to Futaba's word, the stone slid smoothly down once they had all passed through. Akira experimentally pressed his palm to its surface, but it did not respond. Ann gasped.

"This is...so creepy..."

Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of the pulsing veins stretched downward through a large hole in the ground, explaining the red glow they had seen from the other side of the door. The illumination of the room ebbed and flowed in a regular pattern, almost like a heartbeat.

"This is...truly grotesque." For the first time since Yu had met him, even Yusuke seemed unable to find a redeeming quality in the scene laid out before them.

"Look beyond, at the walls." Akira was gazing out across the chasm before them.

"Are those...prison cells?" Makoto asked, looking horrified.

"What does everyone think this world _is?"_ Ann asked.

"Never mind that for now," Morgana said. "The Treasure's definitely here, and that's what's important. I can sense something else, too, though -- a tremendous presence coming from much deeper within."

"Well, we'll face that when we get there." Akira glanced around. "There's our path."

They followed Akira through what was a surprisingly straightforward and unguarded path.

"This has a much different feeling from the rest of Mementos," Haru said, hugging her arms close to her.

"The architecture is strikingly different," Yusuke mused, pulling off one of his gloves and running his fingers along the stonework. "This was crafted. The upper floors appear to have just...existed." He shivered, replacing the glove on his hand.

The hairs on the back of Yu's neck stood up. "Does anyone else hear...whispering?"

Futaba moaned, gripping her hair tightly. "I was trying not to, but yup."

The source of the whispering revealed itself as a large section of prison cells surrounding a circular room. Yu could tell that a conversation was happening, but the murmurs from the prisoners surrounding them were seeping into his brain, making it impossible for him to focus.

_ Don't do anything unnecessary... _

_ So calming... _

_ I don't care... _

_ I'm so happy... _

_ Once everyone turns into Shadows...they'll still keep on living, oblivious to all the things around them... _

No, that last part was Adachi, just before they had fought him in the depths of Magatsu Inaba.

"Hey, what are you doing outside the cells?"

"Of course a prison has guards," Yusuke snapped in frustration, narrowly dodging an attack from the Shadows that had crept up behind them.

The battle was over quickly, but the brief interlude of fighting was enough to allow Yu to regain his focus. He couldn't afford to be distracted any longer.

Akira sheathed his dagger. "Let's keep moving."

They circled the Palace, descending ever more, finding more and more prison cells, including one that contained all of the Phantom Thieves' previous targets.

"Have they chosen a life of captivity after they lost their distorted desires?" Morgana wondered aloud.

"Once they stopped fixating on whatever that desire was, it was probably easier for them to accept whatever force is manipulating the rest of the world," Yu said. "Path of least resistance."

Akira's gaze was shrewd. "Is this what happened in Inaba?"

"It..." Yu rubbed the back of his neck. "Towards the end, yeah...it definitely feels similar."

They kept going, discovering more and more prison cells, the Quarantine Cell that held the "most dangerous criminal", and even more guards. After what was simultaneously an eternity and an instant, they emerged onto a platform overlooking a huge tower, pulsating bundles of veins illuminating everything with a sickening red aura. "The Treasure must be in there," Morgana said.

Yusuke stared up at it, the white of his mask reflecting the red from in front of them. "The ominous atmosphere, its central position...This feels like a temple of sorts."

Makoto wrinkled her nose. "Is this staircase made of a large spine?"

Indeed, with the bones curving down from either side, the staircase did have an uncanny resemblance to a giant's spine and ribcage. "Best not to think about that too much," Yu suggested, and they gingerly picked their way down it to enter the center of the deepest part of Mementos.

Akira and Yu were the first through the entrance, gazing down at the sight below them. A huge goblet of sorts was set in the very middle of the room, with statues of upraised hands on either side. The veins had coalesced into a small number of large, sturdy arteries, clustered neatly into the top of the cup. The rest of the Phantom Thieves emerged, fanning out on the ledge next to them. "The hell is that...?" Ryuji gestured with his free hand.

"We have to get closer," Akira said, and they all started dropping down towards the bottom. The ledges were steep, providing no clear way for them to climb back up later, but they would deal with that later.

"Are these  _ all _ prison cells?" Yusuke asked, turning his head this way and that. Squares of red light glowed out towards them, a dark humanoid figure in each.

"Never mind that," Morgana said quietly. "The Treasure...that  _ thing _ is the Treasure."

"So we just have to destroy it?" Ann asked.

"Yeah. That should work."

As if this statement had been a command, the goblet in front of them coalesced some of the hazy redness around it into sharp beams, almost like searchlights. The indistinct murmurs from the prisoners grew louder, more unsettled.

"Attack now, talk later," Akira ordered, and they sprang into action.

A full round of attacks barely seemed to dent the cup, and the murmurs of the inmates rose to a cacophony.

_ Stop! Stop it! _

_ Don't touch the Holy Grail! _

"Holy...Grail?" Futaba questioned, as the arteries above the cup glowed brightly.

"Hold on," Yu called as Yusuke readied another attack. "Did that thing just get...shinier?"

"The inmates are healing it," Makoto realized suddenly.

"Dammit!" Ryuji slammed his bat into the floor. "This is never gonna end at this rate!"

_ You fools....Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of humanity... _

Yu grimaced as a voice seemed to sound simultaneously through his ears and directly broadcast into his brain, like a much more sinister Prometheus.

_ I am revered as the granter of dreams for all who behold me...A being most commonly known as the Holy Grail. This Prison of Regression is representative of the collective desires of humanity. To neglect the world around them, surrender their cognition, stay in their prison of indolence. _

"This is  _ exactly _ like what happened in Inaba," Yu groaned, as the Holy Grail shot a beam of light at Akira, who dodged effortlessly, and they were fighting yet again.

"It's no use! They're healing it again!" Futaba's voice is shrill.

The inmates had begun chanting in unison.  _ Get out of here, get out of here... _

"We're never gonna be able to beat it at this rate," Ryuji groaned.

"Look! It's...all gold a-and shiny now!" Futaba cried breathlessly.

_ Humanity already wishes for their distortions to be actualized. I am merely the being that will ultimately grant those wishes. And now, it is time I refrain from my place in this world, and begin to encroach upon reality itself. _

"'Encroach'? What is it going to do?" Makoto questioned.

The Holy Grail glowed with a blue light laced with electricity.

_ Now, the time for the fusion has come...! _

Blinding light surrounded Yu as everything faded out of existence around him. He tried to reach out to where Yusuke had been standing a moment ago, but his hand met nothingness. He was falling, falling --

He slammed onto pavement, combat reflexes kicking in at the last possible second so he could break his fall with minimal injuries. Grunts and shrieks sounded around him, and he looked up to see the rest of the Phantom Thieves getting up from where they, too, had been unceremoniously deposited in --

"Is this Shibuya?" Haru breathed.

"Our clothes are back to normal," Futaba gasped.

"We must've been driven out of the Metaverse by the Holy Grail," Morgana said, back in his cat form.

"Did we lose?" Makoto asked unsteadily.

"I don't understand," Akira said, eyes scanning his surroundings.

A drop of rain fell on Yu's head and he brushed the wetness off, stopping in horror when his fingers met something that felt much thicker. He brought his hand in front of his face to see a sticky, pale red substance, as more droplets started falling around them.

"Look out!"

Ryuji pulled Ann out of the way as a clawlike bone rose out of the sidewalk nearby, poking effortlessly through the bricks and the layer of red liquid that had stuck with alarming rapidity to the sidewalk, reaching up towards the sky. In an instant, the skyline of Shibuya was dotted with several structures of bones and sinew.

"Is this...'the fusion'?" Makoto said, her voice almost a squeak.

"How is no one else reacting to this?" Akira asked, as the third passerby in a row sidestepped the column of bone without sparing it so much as a glance.

"Not even that," Yu said sharply. "I don't think they see  _ us, _ either."

"What do you mean?" Ann asked.

Yu walked directly in front of someone and waved his hand directly in front of their face. There was no response, not even so much as a blink or flinch. "It's like we don’t exist anymore." He walked back over to stand next to Yusuke, faintly hoping his presence would somehow make him feel better.

A faint moan sounded from behind him, and he whirled around just in time to see Futaba collapse to the ground, clutching her head.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel...woozy..."

Ann tried to help her to her feet, but swayed, crumpling to the sidewalk next to her.

A wave of dizziness washed over Yu, and he clutched Yusuke's sleeve. Almost in unison, they sank to the ground, Yusuke's head resting in Yu's lap as Yu leaned back into the nearby building and willed the feeling to stop.

Ryuji screamed, holding a hand out in front of him.

Or...what  _ had _ been a hand. Black flecks drifted up through the air, disintegrating like a defeated Shadow.

_ Those who have disappeared from cognition cannot exist anywhere. _

The voice of the Holy Grail echoed through his mind again as he fought to keep his eyes open, to keep himself breathing, as the hand that was weakly holding his was breaking into shadowy fragments --

"Stay with me," he gasped desperately, but as Yusuke's eyes focused on him for the last time, he knew it was too late, that nothing in his power could stop this --

A strangled, weak scream left his lips as the fragments drifted past him and his hands suddenly grasped nothing, felt nothing, became nothing.

The sky above him was red, crimson, black, as he drew one last, suffocating breath.


	18. Resurrection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this chapter: character death. Again.

_ Clang. _

A voice. Jeering. Disappointed. Sad.

Cold metal around his ankle.

Blue.

He opened his eyes.

The sight of his cell in the Velvet Room greeted him. With effort, he swung his legs over the edge of the slender cot, unable to move any more than he needed to in order to sit up.

"So...your rehabilitation was not carried through."

The voice...it was the one he had come to associate with this Velvet Room's Igor, but it still felt...wrong.

"It appears I overestimated the two of you."

Something nagged at him, hovering just far enough away that he couldn't quite fit the pieces together.

"Where did my teammates go?" Akira's voice croaked from a nearby cell, and the clinking of chains indicated that he had struggled to his feet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yu saw Caroline slam her baton into the bars of Akira's cell. "You incompetent prisoner!"

"It appears our assistance was for naught," Justine added coldly from her post just outside Yu's cell.

"Humans are more apathetic than I had assumed. The world will soon see its ruin." Igor drummed his fingers absently on his desk.

"Ruin?" Akira's voice was a tiny bit stronger.

Igor's gaze settled on Akira. "You have lost the game." His eyes swiveled to Yu, who felt pinned in place. "And you, your second chance. Even two Tricksters working together could not bring change to mankind. And according to the rules of the game, and the deal I struck with Izanami, the defeated must pay a price. Your lives are forfeit. I sentence you to be executed."

Caroline and Justine looked at each other, then back at their respective prisoners. "If that's what our master wishes," Caroline said, in a flat, dead voice.

"Are we really going to kill them?" Justine murmured.

"What is the matter? Carry out the sentence at once." Igor's voice was final, commanding.

Akira stumbled backwards from the bars as Caroline's baton, suddenly sparking with electricity, slammed into the bars again, and as if that was a summons, two of the guillotines they had used for Persona fusions in the past had appeared in the nearby shadows. Together, the two Wild Cards were dragged out of their cells and deposited on the floor of the execution area.

"Where are the rest of our teammates?" Yu asked, taking up Akira's earlier question, gritting his teeth to stay conscious through the leaden feeling that seemed to permeate his entire being.

"Shut up and accept your sentence!"

"No."

Akira’s voice echoed out in unison with his, and together, they both struggled to their feet. The leaden feeling was still there, but the memories flashing through Yu's head of all that the Phantom Thieves had done for each other, and the Investigation Team before that, gave him the strength to stand.

A light breeze ruffled his hair and he felt, rather than saw, the outfit of his rebellion settle on his skin again.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?"

"I guess not," Akira said through clenched teeth.

Caroline stamped her foot. "Let's just -- carry out our master's orders."

Try as he might, Yu could not summon a single Persona as spell after spell crashed against him, and Akira was faring no better, but as a spell knocked him down to one knee, the twins stopped. "No...this is wrong..."

"Our true duty is not to kill..."

Akira's head raised up, as if seeing something, following it with his eyes as he clutched his injured arm with one hand.

Yu felt something crash over his mind. The last thing he heard was the voice of the Holy Grail proclaiming  _ The game is not over. _

_ I just...I wanted to do something good with this second chance... _

_ Do you wish to make a deal with me? I could return the world to its previous state full of distorted masses and give the Phantom Thieves the fame and fortune they deserve. _

_ No...not like that... _

Bright light shone through the room, and Yu scrambled to his feet.

"You're awake."

The guillotines were still there, but in front of them was a single girl, as if Caroline and Justine had fused into one only slightly larger person, and when the Igor at the desk spoke, it was with the voice Yu remembered from his time in Inaba.

"Welcome back," he chuckled. "Having a repeat guest is...well, I am honored for myself, but I am sorry for the circumstances that led you here. This -- " he indicated the girl next to him -- "is Lavenza. You would know her older sister, Margaret."

Akira spoke, seemingly returned to his full strength. "We need to fight the god that's been doing all this."

"You cannot do that with your power alone," Lavenza said.

"I know, but the God of Control -- "

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Perhaps it has a place for those who no longer exist in cognition."

Yu noticed that there were two doors leading out of the main chamber, one next to Akira's cell, and one next to his.

"Your bonds with your teammates may well allow you to find them, and release them from their captivity here," Lavenza affirmed. "Once they are all gathered here...we will tell you everything."

Yu and Akira looked at each other, then, an unspoken agreement passing between them, and each headed through the hallway closest to their own cell.

The concentric halls around the outside of the Velvet Room could be considered nice for a prison; the walls felt more like a medieval castle than a prison, save for the iron-bar doors that dotted them. With a pang, he thought back to how Yukiko's castle had looked as he, Yosuke, and Chie had fought to save her, glancing through each of the empty cells he passed --

A familiar red outfit caught his eye.

He sucked in a breath as he came to a stop outside the cell, wondering if he had finally gone insane from everything that had happened. He had expected to find only the Phantom Thieves, but instead, sitting quietly next to each other on a blue bench inside the cell, were --

"Yukiko? Chie?"

They looked up, shock written across both their faces, and Yukiko got to her feet, unsure. "Is -- is that you, Yu-kun?"

He swallowed. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"Whatever, dork," Chie cut in. "I dunno about Yukiko, but I kind of feel like I've just been floating in space for a while, so you could tell me it's been twenty minutes or ten years and I'd probably believe either one. We knew you'd come and you came."

"And that's what matters," Yukiko said, placing her hand on the bars in front of her --

And they glowed blue before vaporizing, the blue light coalescing into two tarot cards.

Chie punched the air in delight before grabbing hers. "All right! I dunno whose ass we need to kick, but I'm ready to kick their ass!"

"Hold on, Chie," Yukiko interrupted. "You still need to find the others, don't you, Yu-kun?"

"Yeah. I don't think we're in any danger here, but -- "

"We'll stay here," Yukiko said firmly. "You're the one they need to see right now."

"Come get us when you've got everyone!" Chie said cheerfully.

He wound his way further along the hallways, finding first Kanji and Naoto, then Rise and Teddie, in cells identical to the first, each of whom proclaimed their faith that he would find them. He pushed aside the guilt he felt at this, trying not to think about it being his fault they were there in the first place, and turned the corner into the last hallway.

He heard the tapping of a sneaker against stone before he could see anything, and he had to take a deep breath to push aside the memory of brown hair and bright eyes being claimed by the darkness before walking up to the last door.

To his surprise, this cell was laid out differently. Two benches faced each other diagonally on opposite walls. The one furthest away from him was obscured by shadows, but the one closest to him -- 

"Hey, Yosuke."

The boy's eyes were still framed by the orange glasses that Teddie had made for him, his jacket still ripped where a Shadow had attacked him that day in Yomotsu Hirasaka. His gaze was still fiery and determined. "Knew you'd come."

No fanfare, no heartfelt statements, just a simple expression of trust. Those three words were enough to summon the magician's tarot card. Yosuke caught it between his fingers, letting its light diffuse through him. But the bars remained solid.

The shadowy figure on the farther bench shifted, but said nothing.

Yosuke, seeming to sense something, stepped back from the cell door, and Yu shifted his attention to the other person in the cell. The silhouette was oh so familiar, but the posture was not. Elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped in front of him, head hanging low in defeat.

"He showed up here a little while ago," Yosuke said. "Hasn't moved at all. I don't even know -- "

"Yusuke."

The name left Yu's lips without any conscious thought, and finally the person stirred, looking up slowly. A small amount of light finally illuminated smooth black hair, tinted blue here in the Velvet Room, and clouded gray eyes. "You're safe," he noted, sounding...detached? Sad? "However, where exactly are we...?"

"Outside the Velvet Room," Yu said, knowing that explanation wouldn't really mean anything to Yusuke.

"Velvet...Room...? I'm not sure I understand..."

He looked back down at his hands. "At first, I didn't understand how the masses came to be chained in a prison, yet here I am as well, with even the illusion of power stripped away from me. The world outside is a veritable hell of humanity's own desired making....Can we do anything at all?"

"Are you giving up?"

Yusuke shot a look his way that would have been a glare if it hadn't been laced so thoroughly with exhaustion. "I'm merely acknowledging how powerless I am. No one wanted us to fight the Holy Grail. They screamed at us,  _ defending _ it with their own strength and power....Were we risking our own lives for a result no one desired?"

"Why were you fighting, Yusuke?"

"Me...?"

He looked down at his hands again, but this time he seemed to truly be seeing them instead of staring into nothingness. "I fought because of what Madarame did to me. I fought against the ugliness of corrupted desires. I fought so we could be free to make our own decisions, and not merely follow the path that society had set out for us. I fought for  _ you." _ He stood up, fresh resolve in his stance. "And I will  _ keep fighting." _

A flash of blue light signaled the disappearance of the prison bars as Yusuke was transformed once again into the kitsune.

"Dude, can someone please explain to me what's happening?"

Yosuke had done an admirable job of watching quietly during their conversation, but he was plainly bewildered at Yusuke's sudden transformation -- and, now that he thought about it, probably Yu's own Metaverse appearance, as well.

Yu adjusted his glasses awkwardly. "Let's get the others first."

Once the Investigation Team had reassembled, Yu tried to figure out what the most important pieces of the past few months were to fill them in while they waited for Akira and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. "Listen, I'll explain everything later, but for now...I'm not sure how much time we have."

"How much time -- ?" Naoto echoed, tilting her head.

"Another interfering god decided he knew what humans wanted better than they did, so they created a world from people's corrupted desires and then merged it with reality, so unless we can fix it, people are basically going to stop thinking for themselves."

"What is it with these deities?" Rise demanded, hands on her hips. "They don't get to just  _ decide _ these things!"

"My thoughts exactly." Akira's voice cut into the conversation, a smile tugging at his lips at Rise's words. His eyes fell on Yusuke.  _ "There _ you are. Guess it makes sense you'd be over there."

Yu felt the question in Yosuke's gaze, but ignored it for the time being. Either there would be plenty of time for him to explain his relationship status later, or it wouldn't matter because they'd all be dead.

Igor and Lavenza explained the situation to everyone. Morgana had been created to serve as a guide for the Trickster. During some confusingly-overlapping and not-very-well-explained timelines, Igor had been tricked into starting this 'game' with Yaldabaoth, the God of Control, and somehow Izanami had caught wind of it, persuading the two of them to allow her to drop a Wild Card of her own in the fight. (Yu supposed this explained the month-long gap between the day they had gone into Yomotsu Hirasaka and the day he had awakened in the trash of Yongen-jaya; once Izanami had him under her control, it must have been easy enough for her to hold onto him until the perfect moment.)

This also explained how the other Investigation Team members came to be imprisoned here: in exchange for allowing Izanami to participate in the game, Igor had convinced her to allow them to be held hostage, to be released should the pair of Tricksters prove successful.

"So...we've been locked away for nine months?" Yukiko asked. "And no one remembers us?"

_ "Almost _ no one," Igor corrected, but provided no additional explanation.

Lavenza spoke up. "We believe that, if the proper way of things is restored by defeating Yaldabaoth, your previous lives will also be restored. Your memories and the memories of your loved ones will be indistinct over the time you were imprisoned, but everything will be returned to the way it should have been."

Yu looked at her. "What will that mean for me?"

It was a selfish question, but if they had defeated Izanami, he would have gotten back on the train the next day and spent his senior year of high school largely alone in his parents' apartment as they traveled on business, cramming for entrance exams and living for the few days here and there he could return to Inaba. It would have been fine if he had never known anything else, but...

Yusuke's face was carefully neutral, and that alone was threatening to break Yu's composure altogether.

Lavenza answered him simply. "You would continue on as you are. It would be unfair to have put you through this rigged game and not allow you to grow from it."

Relief -- and perhaps a little guilt -- swirled through Yu as Lavenza turned to the rest of the people gathered in front of her with sad eyes. "You," she said, eyes lingering on the Investigation Team, "do not exist because of Izanami's tampering of your loved ones' cognitions. Small-scale in the grand scheme of things, yet still tragic and unnecessary. You -- " focusing on the Phantom Thieves -- "do not exist because reality is replete with the cognition of those who deny the Phantom Thieves. The world is one step away from the evil god's machinations, and he is sure to have called upon Izanami to help cement this new world order. However...there is still hope."

"There...is...?" Ryuji scratched his head.

"Your unbreakable bonds with each other are your keys back into reality," Lavenza explained. "Together, you can save the world from ruin."

"Group cheer," Akira said sardonically. "Guess we don't have time to waste."

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji thrust his fist in the air. "Let's go beat that shiny Treasure jerk for real this time!"

Lavenza turned to Morgana. "Please, guide them one last time."

Morgana leapt up in that slightly gravity-defying way he had in the Metaverse. "The exit is this way!"

He led them to a large door. "This way leads back to...well, it would've been reality, but now..."

"Now it's whatever this fresh hell is." Akira cast his gaze over the group, eyes lingering on the people he didn't know. "You're all Persona-users?"

They all nodded.

"Can you actually use your Personas here?"

"We got our tarot cards back when Yu freed us," Yosuke said, "so...I think so?"

Rise held out her hand, summoning Kanzeon. "Looks like it!" she said cheerfully. "And I'm detecting Persona auras from everyone."

"Interesting that you don't get weird costumes like us. Huh. Spark, it'll make more sense if you take charge of your old group again -- you're already familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, so you'll be much more effective directing them than I would."

"Do they need codenames?" Ann asked.

"We don't have time for that," Yu said, shaking his head, "and up against a couple of angry gods is not the time to not know what name to respond to."

"Fair point," Akira said, hand on the door. "Well then. Shall we go set reality right?"

Shibuya had become even more sickening when they emerged. The gelatinous red liquid was ankle-deep on the streets and skeletons crisscrossed the skies. Yusuke pointed to an unfamiliar building on the skyline. "There -- isn't that the shrine that the Holy Grail was in when we fought it in the depths of Mementos?"

"Sure looks like it," Akira confirmed.

"And this," Yu said, nudging a nearby bone with his foot, "looks suspiciously like a path up to it."

"Convenient," Futaba muttered. "These gods are either super confident or super dumb."

"This is so creepy," Chie moaned, clutching Yukiko's arm.

Akira shaded his eyes against the nonexistent sun, looking up the path as it curled towards the shrine. "It looks like it's pretty much one path, but it splits and rejoins in a couple places. Let's split the two groups -- Phantom Thieves'll take the left paths."

Behind them, Rise and Futaba were conferring in low voices, having apparently figured out that they were both navigators. Futaba dropped her goggles back onto her eyes and Rise's tarot card glowed brightly before turning into Kanzeon. "Wow," Futaba breathed, tapping away at her invisible control panel. "Rise, that's amazing! I can get information from a much greater distance!"

"I can see so much more detail," Rise exclaimed.

"With our powers combined -- !"

"There's no reason to split up," Rise said, eyes hidden behind Kanzeon's blindfold. "The paths are all guarded by a handful of 'angels', but they all have set patrol routes. Each time the paths come together, there's a strong guardian. We'll have to defeat those to make it to the top."

"Your biggest issue will be space," Futaba continued. "The areas around the guardians are kind of small, so trying to have more than about four people in battle at a time would run the risk of friendly fire."

"How many of these guardians are there?" Yu asked.

"Um..." Rise paused for a moment. "Nine."

Akira let out a low whistle. "This is gonna be a slog."

"How are we gonna decide who's in the main party?" Ryuji asked.

"Rise, if you can transmit info on your team's strengths and weaknesses, I can pull that into my party composition app -- "

"You have an  _ app?" _ Akira said incredulously.

"Dude, we access a parallel dimension through our smartphones. An app that takes in enemy spells and weaknesses, compares them to our stats, and outputs the ideal party composition is what you question? Seriously?"

"I mean...more like...when did you do this?"

"I've had most of it for ages, but I just added in the noobs while you were talking in the Velvet Room." Futaba typed furiously. "Okay, for this first fight...there's an elemental weakness to wind, strength or block ability for psycho, bless, and curse...splitting leadership duties equally across nine battles...taking into account later weaknesses and strengths -- ugh, those last three are just gonna be bullet sponges -- okay! I'm going to suggest Spark, Mona...uh, Yosuke, and Chie."

Akira shrugged his acquiescence, stepping backwards to let Yu take the lead. "I'll trust the algorithm."

"Smart choice." Futaba gave him a shit-eating grin.

Yu switched in Oberon for wind spells as well, and the fight was over almost before it started. There was an easy comfort in fighting alongside Yosuke and Chie again after so long, and with three wind casters, it was an absolute maelstrom of Shadow defeat. Yosuke grinned at him as the Shadows exploded, hair sticking up in all directions from the tornadoes they had unleashed. "Feels good, partner."

"All right," Futaba said, cheerfully clapping her hands together. "Joker, Queen, Noir, and Yukiko!"

They worked their way up the path, swapping out who was in the vanguard with each battle. From the reserves, Yu watched how Yukiko's graceful fighting style complemented Akira's as Makoto and Haru took more brute-force approaches. When Yukiko returned to the reserves after that, her eyes had a fierce sparkle in them as Chie high-fived her.

"Last one!" Rise sang out. "Senpai, Morgana, Ann, and Yusuke! No elemental weaknesses. Drains Bless."

They sprang into action, Morgana using wind to whip Ann's fire attacks into a frenzy. The flames had barely died down when Yusuke threw his hand forward, freezing the Shadow in place so Yu could leap forward with his katana.

When the Shadow had exploded into a cloud of black fragments, they all gathered up again. "Can you two tell anything about what we're walking into?" Akira asked the navigators.

Kanzeon was already scanning the area as he asked the question, and Futaba's tongue was sticking out one side of her mouth as she tapped away, a sure sign of concentration. "No," Rise said sadly.

"It's all distorted and hazy in there," Futaba complained. "I get flashes of something occasionally as Rise scans, but it's like whatever’s in there is manipulating the signal so it feels much further away than it is."

"I keep getting a sense of overwhelming power." As Rise dismissed Kanzeon, she looked worried. "Even more than when we fought Izanami."

"If I'm correct and Izanami and Yaldabaoth are working together, that makes sense." Akira pushed his mask up, the crimson fading out of his eyes.

"How do we want to do this?" Yu asked.

Akira rubbed his eyes and dropped his mask back into place. "Stay with your team if we need to split up. With both Oracle and Rise, I think we'll be able to determine pretty quickly if we need to focus on one target or split our attention." He glanced over the Phantom Thieves, sizing them up. "Panther, Mona, and Skull, to the front with me. We'll switch out as it makes sense."

"Yosuke, Yukiko, and Chie." Yu's choice was automatic; Yosuke and Chie had been with him the longest, and none of the others could even come close to Yukiko's healing ability.

"Do you hear something?" Teddie asked, in a high-pitched voice.

The murmurs from earlier were starting up again. "It might be above ground now, but this shrine is still a large prison of brainwashed people," Akira said.

"Think that Holy Grail bastard is still in there?" Ryuji asked.

"That seems likely," Yusuke replied, as Akira seemed lost in thought. "I imagine it is the source of this distortion."

"Let's go," Akira said, suddenly snapping out of his trance. "I don't want to give them any more time to prepare than we have to."

They climbed up to the blood-red shrine, emerging into the same arena they'd been in before. Yu heard gasps from the Investigation Team behind him; this was their first time seeing the Holy Grail with its sickening, pulsating arteries, draining the life force from the hundreds of prisoners around them --

"The veins -- " Morgana yanked on Akira's coat.

"That's what heals the Grail." Understanding dawned on Akira's face.

"Can we cut them?" Ann asked.

"We have to try."

"Won't it notice you and try to stop you?" Rise's eyes were wide, still processing the scene in front of them.

"We'll have to launch an attack to keep it occupied while one person gets up there."

"Let me do it," Yosuke said suddenly, stepping forward. "I'm pretty fast and agile."

Akira sized him up, looked at Yu for confirmation, and then nodded. "All right. Join the front and wait for my signal."

_ You truly do not know when to quit. _

A low chuckle echoed in Yu's mind after the words burned through him. Not the voice of the Holy Grail.

Izanami.

Yosuke placed a hand on his shoulder as he passed, with the same look of fierce determination and trust that he had had before their last fight with Izanami, headphones already on in preparation for the fight. Yu nodded at him, feeling fresh determination filling him. They would not fail a second time.  _ He _ wouldn't fail them a second time.

The chants of the prisoners around them echoed sinisterly as they launched a full-on attack to distract the Grail, as Yosuke darted between their teammates and the shadows, perching precariously on one of the large hand statues as he watched for Akira's signal.

"Megidola!"

Akira threw a hand skyward, a bright light seemed to expand directly over the Grail, and Yosuke leapt from the statue to the rim of the cup, slashing away at the veins with his kunai. They sprang apart, thrashing violently as they retracted, and Yosuke danced away along the rim of the cup until the last one was cut. As he turned to make his descent, it swung wildly at him, smacking him full in the back and sending him flying. He landed with a thud and a pained cry on the side opposite from them, and one of the Grail's beams of light homed in on him --

In the blink of an eye, Yusuke darted over, pulling him out of the way. The arrow of light crashed into the floor mere centimeters away from Yosuke's head as the two of them tumbled away. Yu let loose a Ziodyne to pull the Grail's attention away, wincing when he couldn't quite dodge the retaliatory attack. Teddie had already bounded over to heal his adopted brother, who was struggling to his feet and nodding his thanks to his rescuers.

"It's working!"

Morgana's shout was triumphant as Ann's and Yukiko's Agidyne spells successfully tarnished the Grail's sheen, leaving blackened scorch marks all along the sides.

"Its aura is diminishing!" Futaba said excitedly.

"I'm sensing two sources of overwhelming power approaching," Rise called, voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Izanami and Yaldabaoth," Yu said to no one in particular as Ryuji's spiked bat left a satisfying dent in the increasingly-decrepit Grail and Chie followed it up with her signature kick. The Grail tipped precariously, seeming to struggle to stay upright, and Morgana immediately directed Garudyne at it for the final blow. The cup crashed over.

The sudden silence was unnerving. There were no sounds of battle. Even the inmates had gone silent. The feeling of hundreds of eyes staring at him in complete silence pricked the back of Yu's neck.

The click of Akira's boots against the stone floor echoed in the silent chamber as he strode forward. "Come out and face us, Yaldabaoth," he called, Joker's confidence in full display. "It's time to end this."

The Phantom Thieves all stiffened, heads whipping around nervously, and Yu realized that they were all hearing something that he and the Investigation Team were not. He frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong --

"Oh no you don't!"

Rise's shout snapped him out of his frown and he spun on his heel as Kanzeon's shield flashed around them, deflecting a powerful attack from Izanami, who had appeared in midair behind them, an arrogant smirk on her face. "So," she said, addressing Yu directly. "I gave you a second chance. All you had to do was walk away from this."

"And throw away what my friends had sacrificed?" Yu shot back, incredulous. "I don't think so."

"Yet you seem to have made yourself quite the comfortable new life without them. Even I was surprised by how quickly your  _ feelings _ moved on to another."

Her smirk widened as she looked past them, and Yu had an uncomfortable feeling that she was staring at Yusuke. "I thought my friends were  _ dead. _ All I could do with your stupid second chance was either pick up the pieces and try to move on, or join them."

Izanami shrugged, now looking bored with the whole situation. "I would say that leaves you with an interesting dilemma now, but you won't escape me again."

"Look out!" Rise and Futaba yelled in unison.

Yu pulled Yosuke out of the way as dual streams of lightning soared towards them and then all hell broke loose. Out of the corner of his eye as he summoned Black Frost --  _ wait, I haven't had this Persona since the last time we fought Izanami  _ \-- he saw the Phantom Thieves scrambling away from a huge sword sweeping its way across the battlefield, held by the largest arm he had ever seen. Apparently Yaldabaoth had shown his true form while Izanami was taunting him.

"Give her everything you've got!" he yelled, channeling Diamond Dust through the cheeky dark snowman.

Attacks flashed in sequence from his teammates, Rise helping them to time and dodge the return attacks properly.

"She's immune to electricity! Kanji, physical atta -- Yosuke, look out!"

Her warning came too late as Ziodyne slammed right into his chest, sending him to the ground, convulsing. Kanji slammed the large board he was carrying into Izanami, knocking her to the ground, and Yu reluctantly left Yosuke on the ground as he unsheathed his katana and dove into the fray.

By the time Izanami had freed herself from them, Yosuke was unsteadily getting to his feet, looking much worse for wear. Amaterasu pointed its nose at him as Yukiko swung her fan gracefully around to face him, and he shook his head to clear the last effects of the electric shock as he was healed. Susano-o sent a blast of wind at Izanami, but it barely ruffled her hair.

"She's stronger than she was last time," Rise said worriedly. "I can't find a weak spot."

"Just tell us if her immunities change," Yu called back, another ice spell leaving his fingertips as the telltale glow of an upcoming fire attack glowed in Izanami's hands.

"That's weird -- she's not targeting any of us..."

"What?"

Too late, he realized what was happening. As if time had slowed, he saw the powerful inferno leave Izanami's hands -- heard a muffled warning from one of their navigators -- and Yusuke turned just in time for the fire to completely engulf him.

Everything rushed back all at once in a terrifying blur of motion and sound. Yusuke's scream of pain stabbed him as if someone had shot an arrow into his ears, and the sound of his voice was weakening far too quickly. Tears blurred his vision.  _ I can't fail again. _

"You won't," Yukiko said fiercely, and he realized he had spoken aloud. She was standing next to him, skirt whipping in the wind as Yosuke's Garudyne blew past them.

Yosuke himself sidestepped an attack to join them. "We won't lose!"

"You got us back," Kanji yelled from where he was still swinging his board, "and we ain't lettin' this goddess do what she wants that easy!"

_ This feeling...are they...glowing? _

"We're gonna kung fu this bitch into next century!" Chie shouted.

"I have the utmost faith," Naoto said serenely, firing her gun.

"Losing now would be un- _ bear _ -able!" Teddie chirped.

"I love you, Senpai!" Rise sang out.

Each of their declarations coalesced into glowing strands of silver, connecting them to him. He felt a cold touch on his arm and turned to see Kamo Susano-o behind him. He locked eyes with Yusuke, far beyond that, until Yusuke's eyes closed and his head fell limp, his Persona fading into another thin silver line connecting the two of them.

Other people tumbled through his mind, one after the other, leaving glowing silver traces in their wake...the nurse at the hospital in Inaba...the basketball team manager...the old couple that had rescued him...the Phantom Thieves...Nanako's voice cheered him on in his mind, her sweet voice chiming above all the rest, urging her "big bro" forward, and everything around him stilled as those silver trails met in a single point, solidifying into a tarot card in front of him, and he reached out...

_ I am thou, thou art I....From the sea of thy soul, I come... _

"Izanagi-no-Okami!"

Power hummed in Yu's fingertips as he crushed the card in his hand, power born of the people he loved, and he walked slowly forward, Izanami somehow diminishing in stature until they looked at each other, eye to eye.

"I  _ will _ protect them."

The power was dizzying as he raised his hands in the air towards Izanagi-no-Okami, light streaming from him up to his Persona, and a single burst of silver light shot forward, disintegrating the goddess' form on impact.

_ Very well...You have proven yourself...I will restore the memories of your loved ones... _

Izanami's voice trailed off.

He looked down at himself. The thief costume he had become so used to was gone, replaced by the Yasogami High uniform he hadn't worn in months. It felt...right.

"Senpai...They need help..." Rise said desperately.

Izanagi-no-Okami's power faded away, but resolutely Yu turned towards the battle still raging with Yaldabaoth. Yusuke still lay motionless where Izanami had killed him, and Yu knelt down next to him. Morgana was nearby, barely breathing and unable to stand, sparks arcing between bits of fur. Yukiko dropped down next to him, carefully pouring an Amrita Soda into his mouth as Yosuke healed him from a distance, careful not to let any of the sparks transfer to him.

"Move in close!" Rise shouted, and suddenly everyone was sprinting, desperately trying to outrun the sword sweeping across the whole arena. Prometheus scooped Futaba up, pulling her protectively above the fray, and Yukiko grabbed Morgana to run with him. Still drained from channeling Izanagi-no-Okami, Yu flattened himself to the ground instead, hoping the sword was far enough above the ground to miss both him and Yusuke.

The tip whistled over them, catching the heels of Yusuke's boots and slamming his feet sideways into Yu's shin. Yu winced, getting to his feet and mentally shuffling through his Personas for one with a revival skill.

No luck. No revival beads in his pockets, either. He cursed himself for not being prepared, reluctantly leaving Yusuke's lifeless form to join the battle, hoping Teddie, Yukiko, or Morgana would be able to revive him later. His energy was flagging, though; apparently landing a killing blow on a goddess required a lot of fortitude, and the rest of his Personas were starting to fail to cast the attacks he wanted. Yaldabaoth was also far above them and out of reach of his katana, so he grit his teeth, shot the last of the ammunition in his gun, and waited for an opportunity to be useful again.

There was a terrible aura in the air as everything fell silent. "Did -- did we do it?" Ann asked timidly.

"No...not yet!" Futaba cried.

_ "My control will not bow to ruin....My control is the ultimate truth of this world!" _

Waves of darkness emanated from the god, and Yu knew neither up nor down for a moment. When it cleared, he was lying on his back some distance away from where he'd been standing. A leaden feeling pervaded his limbs as he struggled to his hands and knees.

_ "You have been forsaken by the world. There is no place for you." _

A second wave of darkness descended, remaining there. Lightning crashed down around them. Yu's hands slipped on the ground under him.

_ "Not even one sliver of unpredictability can be permitted under my control." _

"I'm not letting that happen!" Morgana sprang to his feet.

"I...hear voices..." Futaba said faintly.

Kanzeon looked strange, crouching over Rise's prone form. "They're cheering for you," Rise cried out, voice cracking from exhaustion.

"For us...?"

The voices from below them came into sharper focus, disjointed yells of support and calls of "Phantom Thieves!"

The sounds became indistinct as Rise fainted and Kanzeon faded away.

Akira stood up, striding forward as a blinding white light surrounded him and Arsene appeared behind him. "Do you hear that? We  _ will not let you win." _ He seized one of the chains descending from Arsene's body, flinging it forward, snapping it in two.

Another flash of lightning, sapping the last of Yu's strength even as the Phantom Thieves seemed to be reinvigorated. His arms would no longer support his weight, collapsing to the floor as his sight dimmed around the edges. He shifted his head, dizzy vision barely focusing enough to see Yosuke and Chie on the ground a short distance away. He supposed it made sense; this had never been their fight. It was up to the Phantom Thieves now.

They'd won their fight.

He rested his head back on the cool floor beneath him, surrendering to the darkness.

* * *

As if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over him, Yu suddenly jerked awake. Disoriented, he scrambled to his hands and knees and looked around. Soft light emanated from every surface around him.

"The Metaverse is dissolving," Morgana shouted.

"Wait -- Fox is still down!"

"Then  _ fix him, _ dammit!"

Somehow it was Ryuji who made it to Yusuke first, roughly shoving a revival bead down his throat as the floor beneath them seemed to turn to pure white --

Shibuya's bustling noise was around him. Someone -- he couldn't tell who -- helped him to his feet as he tried to take in all the sights and sounds at once. When he finally shook away the vestiges of unconsciousness, he realized that he was standing with just the Phantom Thieves. The Investigation Team was nowhere to be found.

"Where -- ?"

"The world got...remade." Ann was quiet. "Into what it was supposed to be."

"Morgana went back to where he came from," Akira said in a flat tone. "I think your friends got sent back to Inaba."

"Where they were supposed to be," Yu murmured. Eyes widening, he turned, searching --

"I'm here."

Yusuke's voice was hoarse and exhausted, coming from a nearby bench. Not caring who was watching, Yu embraced him tightly, burying his face in the other's shoulder. "I didn't know if you'd gotten revived in time."

"Barely," Ryuji said, crossing his arms. "You know how the beads take a bit to do their healin' or whatever? He had just woken up when everything turned white."

He felt Yusuke nod and weakly place a hand on his back. "I feel absolutely wretched, but I am alive."

"You look handsome as ever."

"Hmph." Yusuke failed to keep the smile off his face as Yu brushed the tangles out of his hair, leaning slightly into the touch. "You are quite the biased observer."

Futaba groaned. "Get a room, lovebirds."

Akira's eyes swept up and down Yu. "Those weren't the clothes you were wearing before we went into Mementos," he said.

"Yeah, this is my old school uniform. We always wore our uniforms when we went into the TV because it was easier to hide our weapons and stuff in them. My outfit just kind of...changed when I summoned Izanagi again."

"Weird that it didn't go back to your normal clothes when the Metaverse disappeared." Akira shrugged. "Well, if that's the weirdest thing we have to deal with going forward...I'll be happy."

"Look," Ann breathed. "It's snowing."

They looked up, soft snowflakes dusting their clothes and hair. It wasn't until a snowflake dropped directly into his eye that Yu realized his glasses were no longer on his face. Well...it wasn't like he needed them anymore.

"I'm cold," Futaba whined, breaking the reverie.

Akira slung an arm around her and pulled her close, ignoring her embarrassed sputtering. "That's because you’re wearing short shorts in December."

"I -- I'm still not used to the outdoors! I haven't gotten a chance to buy new clothes yet!"

"Come on, let's go home."

Yu helped Yusuke to his feet, steadying him as they started walking to the station. Akira murmured a quick apology and disappeared, leaving Futaba to walk with them. "Feels weird without Morgana," she said sadly.

Yu didn't know what to say, so he settled for nodding.

Yusuke was very definitely swaying on his feet by the time they made it to the apartment, and he wasted no time in shucking his outer clothes, crawling into the futon in his undershirt and boxers. He was asleep by the time Yu had finished hanging up their coats and folding up the outfit that Yusuke, who was now face down in the pillow, had just discarded. Yu smiled, yawning a little as he realized how tired he was as well, and reached into his pocket so he could pull out his phone to charge --

Right. His new phone didn't exist in his Yasogami uniform. Even when setting everything right, Izanami was still screwing him over. Rolling his eyes exhaustedly, he changed into pajamas and crawled into bed next to Yusuke. He could get a new phone later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Here's your lampshade, just hang it over the timeline inconsistencies of this story.  
> 2\. Goddammit, Teddie. Always with the bear puns.  
> 3\. Poor Yu gets dragged into all this and then can't even be conscious for all the story exposition.  
> 4\. But who was phone?


	19. Return

"Phone."

"Mm?" Yu raised his head a fraction of a centimeter off his pillow, still very much not awake.

"Your phone." Yusuke's voice was muffled between the pillow and his arm. "It's buzzing."

"I don't have a phone anym -- "

He froze, hearing the telltale noise.

_ It can't be... _

Cursing the cold air as he slipped out from beneath the blankets, Yu opened the closet door, shifting around some of the infiltration tools and art supplies that had started to accumulate on the floor until --

His old flip phone was on the floor, somehow fully charged after months of being neglected in the corner, buzzing its electronic heart out as its screen lit up with messages. He opened it with shaking hands.

The Investigation Team were all messaging him, as to be expected after suddenly being resurrected into the real world, but those he could tend to later. What caught his eye was a text from Dojima's number that had come in late yesterday, just a little before he and Yusuke had made it back to the apartment.

_ Big Bro, it's Nanako. The fog is gone but I'm scared. Please come back. Don't reply. Daddy doesn't know I took his phone. _

He tapped the buttons to call the Dojimas' house.  _ Please pick up, please pick up, please -- _

"Dojima house. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now. Leave your name and number and I'll call you back."

He hung up and dialed the cell phone, willing to accept whatever chewing-out Dojima would give him for potentially interrupting him at work if he could just check that Nanako was okay. It rang several times, and then --

"The mailbox of the party you are trying to reach is full."

Yu closed his phone, worry gnawing at his stomach. When he turned back around, Yusuke had raised himself up on his elbows, still bleary-eyed and tousle-haired. "What's wrong?"

"Nanako -- my cousin -- texted me last night." He heard the tremor in his own voice before he noticed he was shaking. "And now no one's answering either the house phone or my uncle's cell phone."

Yusuke sat up, swiping a hand across his eyes to clear the lingering drowsiness from them. "Do you think they could be out shopping? Or perhaps merely in the bathroom?"

"I don't know." He breathed, once, twice, before spinning around and opening the secondhand laptop he'd acquired for schoolwork. "What's the train schedule even like on a holiday...?"

"Are you going out there?"

"I have to. She texts me in the middle of the night by stealing her dad's phone to tell me she's worried? I have to go, Yusuke."

"I'm coming with you." Yusuke pushed the blankets aside and stood up.

"You don't -- do you -- do you even -- " Yu choked on his own objections, realizing how badly he had wanted Yusuke to say that. "I'll buy your ticket. Don't even start," he added, throwing a look over his shoulder. "You can barely afford food as it is."

And so a scant hour later found them on a train to Inaba, Yu periodically calling both numbers until Yusuke finally took the phone from him. "You've left multiple messages at the house," he said softly. "She'll call you back when she sees them. Until then, preserve your phone battery."

Yu rested his head on Yusuke's shoulder, staring out the window past him. The countryside whirred past, covered in the light blanket of snow that had fallen overnight. Yusuke had brought a sketchbook, but if anything the artist did could ever be called idle doodling, it was this. Ornate flourishes curled around the edges of the paper, as if he were drawing his own frame to be filled later, but the inside remained blank for the entirety of the nearly three-hour train ride.

"Next stop: Yasoinaba."

The overhead announcement jerked Yu out of the fitful sleep he had fallen into, and soon he and Yusuke were disembarking.

Yasoinaba Station was a bit of a ways from the Dojimas' house, but fortunately, the bus was just pulling up when they got off the train. They'd still have to walk from the shopping district, but that was much more manageable than walking from the station. Snow was falling heavily from the thick gray sky, but the air around them was completely clear of fog. It seemed like Izanami had kept her promise.

"Look," Yusuke murmured, pointing at the ground as they arrived at the house. Dojima's car was gone from the carport, but a dual set of tire tracks -- probably from pulling in and then backing back out again -- were only barely covered with snow.

Without hesitation, Yu pulled out the key he hadn't needed to use since March and turned it in the lock. It clicked open. "Nanako?" he called, stepping inside and removing his shoes. "Nanako!"

Footsteps sounded from upstairs and he tensed up. Nothing was up there except for the spare room he had stayed in --

A small, pink-clad girl hurtled down the stairs and threw herself at him. "Big Bro, is it really you?"

He caught her and spun her around. "It's really me, Nanako."

Tears were streaming down her face. "I was so scared," she sobbed. "The fog was everywhere and nobody was acting right, Yosuke-nii and Teddie-kun never visited, and nobody seemed to remember you." She hiccupped, trying and failing to stop crying. "I kept going into your room, and sometimes I would see you on the TV -- "

"On the TV?"

"Yeah, after school sometimes. I think I started watching it in October? You were fighting bad guys. I saw you with a bunch of new people." She looked over Yu's shoulder. "I saw you, too. You were a ki -- kisu -- "

"Kitsune," Yusuke helpfully provided, looking a little bewildered. "Yu, can she -- "

"And yesterday, Daddy was gone and I watched the TV all afternoon when I got back from school." Nanako's face was drawn and pinched, eyes still red from crying. "Tokyo was scary."

"Oh, Nanako." Yu grimaced as something clicked into place. Even if Nanako was too young to have manifested a Shadow or Persona, she had been in the TV world for several days when Namatame had kidnapped her, so it made all too much sense that if there was a connection between the Inaba TV world and the Tokyo Metaverse, she would have become aware of it. And yesterday was when they had fought Yaldabaoth and Izanami. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Nanako sniffled again, but this time she started wiping away her tears on her sleeve. "I could see all of you. You looked like superheroes!"

Yu laughed, probably as much out of relief that Nanako didn't seem permanently scarred as at her actual words. "Why did you text me from your dad's phone last night?"

Nanako held her hands out, palms up. "When the fog went away, I could remember your phone number again," she said, her voice small. "I had forgotten it until then. And I was scared. I couldn't see you on the TV anymore."

Yu hugged Nanako fiercely again, as much to hide his tears from her as anything else. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah! And now you're here, Big Bro!"

When Yu let her go, hastily wiping his face, she grabbed onto his hand and started tugging him further into the house. "Daddy and I just got back from Junes, but he said he forgot some things at the office. He should be back soon."

"Sounds good."

Nanako suddenly stopped, turning around with her hands on her hips and fixing Yusuke with a fierce stare. Even if she  _ was _ only a seven-year-old, Yu couldn't blame Yusuke for taking a small step back. "Are you Big Bro's boyfriend?" she demanded, and Yu found himself in a fit of silent giggles that would have made Yukiko proud, seeing the helpless look of pleading tinged with panic on Yusuke's face.

"Please don't hurt me -- " Yusuke's voice cracked a little and Yu laughed even harder -- "yes?"

There was a moment of silence as Nanako continued to stare at Yusuke, and Yu choked back his laughter.

"Okay!"

Nanako's fierce glare was replaced instantly by a sunny smile, and she bowed slightly. "I'm Dojima Nanako. He's technically my cousin, but he's practically my brother."

"I -- I see." Yusuke bowed formally to the little girl. "I am Kitagawa Yusuke."

"Nice to meet you." Nanako straightened up and started skipping back towards the kitchen. "I'll make tea!"

Soon, they were all sitting around the kotatsu, steaming mugs of green tea in front of them. "How have you been?" Yu asked, searching her face. She looked healthy enough, but...

Nanako stared into her own tea, looking forlorn. "It's been lonely," she said mournfully. "I don't remember much of it, except when I was watching the TV. But I kept doing my homework because I wanted you to be proud of me."

"I'll always be proud of you, Nanako."

Nanako's smile was so brilliant it could have melted snow.

Yusuke had pulled out his sketchbook, and Yu felt a surge of affection as he saw the other's eyes flicking back and forth between Nanako, Yu, and his drawing. Trying to keep Nanako's attention, he kept talking. "What did your dad go out to get?"

They kept talking about various light topics until the front door slid open and Nanako jumped up to greet the newcomer. "Daddy!"

"Hey there," Dojima's gruff voice greeted her. "Wait, do we have visitors? Whose shoes are these?" He stepped in from the genkan and froze.

Yu hadn't made the conscious decision to stand, but he was on his feet all the same. "Hello, uncle."

Dojima stared at him for a full ten seconds, long enough that panicked thoughts started chasing themselves around his head --

"Welcome back, kid. Little warning next time, okay?"

Yu let out the breath he'd been holding as Dojima went nonchalantly into the kitchen, as if teenage relatives often showed up unannounced. "Sorry...I didn't think I would be coming until the last minute."

"How's your mom doing?"

The question caught Yu completely off guard. He hadn't even thought of his parents in months. "I...don't know."

Dojima fixed him with the piercing look only a detective could muster, before his features softened and he directed his next words to Nanako. "Nanako, could you make sure Yu's old room is set up?"

Nanako skipped upstairs and Dojima settled on the couch. Yu knew his choice of seating was so that he could appear to be less intimidating, but recognized all the hallmark signs of an incoming interrogation. Dojima sighed. "That nonsense with the TV world you all were talking about last year," he said heavily. "Does that have anything to do with the fact that no one I've talked to today can tell me anything about any time after March and before yesterday evening? And that I don't even remember spending any time with my daughter since you left?"

Yu rested his face in his hands. "It's pretty related, yeah."

"Nanako kept talking about seeing you on TV yesterday when I got home from work. That's about when the fog cleared, too. Got anything to do with that?"

"That tracks."

"Where have you been?"

"Yongen-jaya, in Tokyo. A very generous couple gave me a job and a place to live so I could finish out high school."

"How the hell did you end up there? That's nowhere near your home."

"Wish I could tell you. I woke up in an alleyway when the creepy fog goddess dropped me there. That's about all I know."

Dojima leaned back, sighing heavily and casting his eyes up to the ceiling. "You sound certifiably insane, Yu."

"I know I do, but it's the truth."

"I believe you. After what happened with Nanako...I have no choice." Dojima's eyes shifted to Yusuke. "Who's your friend?"

Yusuke's eyes widened slightly, and Yu froze, unsure what exactly to say.

Dojima cleared his throat when the silence had gone on just a tick too long. "I see. Who's your boyfriend, I mean?"

"Uncle," Yu groaned, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks. Dojima merely chuckled.

"I am Kitagawa Yusuke. A pleasure to meet you, Dojima-san." Yusuke inclined his head instead of bowing, since everyone was already seated. Yu risked a glance at him to see a dusting of pink and a small smile on his face.

Dinner was surprisingly normal, with Yu filling Dojima in on the more mundane aspects of his life in Tokyo and Yusuke having a surprisingly animated conversation with Nanako about drawing. It felt like  _ home. _

When Dojima went to put Nanako to bed, Yu brushed Yusuke's hand with his fingertips. "I should've asked you what you wanted to say about us."

Yusuke looked nonplussed. "Dojima-san is your family," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It didn't even occur to me to keep our relationship a secret."

"I wasn't sure how he'd react. Dating never came up when I was staying here."

Yusuke raised his eyebrows. "Truly? Admittedly, I am no great reader of people, but from the limited amount of time I spent around Rise-san and Yosuke-san, I assumed perhaps one of them -- "

"It...never seemed worth it to pursue anything with either of them." Yu bit the inside of his cheek. "Maybe if things had gone differently with Izanami the first time."

"I see." Yusuke's face smoothed, his features seeming suddenly obscured by a mask. "Does the fact that they are now alive change anything?" he asked delicately, hair falling forward to obscure his eyes as he looked away.

"No." Yu shook his head resolutely, lifting Yusuke's chin with his fingertips and looking him fully in the eyes. "Because I met you, Yusuke."

The mask flickered as Yu moved his hand to Yusuke's cheek, shattering as Yusuke leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. "I don't deserve you."

"Hey now." With his other hand, Yu brushed the hair out of Yusuke's face. "I don't deserve you either, but here we are. Now shut up and kiss me."

"And you mock  _ me _ for cheesy lines."

He could feel Yusuke smiling against his lips, soft and expressive, and his free hand found Yusuke's on the table, intertwining their fingers --

Dojima loudly cleared his throat.

As if suddenly electrocuted, the two teens jerked apart from each other, and despite not daring to look at Yusuke, Yu knew that their faces were identical shades of red. Dojima shook his head ruefully. "Look, just don't wake Nanako up tonight, all right? I don't want to have to explain teenage hormones to her in the same week as supernatural monsters that live in the TV."

* * *

Yu wandered down to the banks of the Samegawa by himself the next day. Nanako apparently had some budding signs of drawing talent, and Yusuke had delightedly agreed to teach her a bit, leaving Yu to his own devices.

He brushed the snow off one of the flat rocks, sitting down and staring out across the water. It was...odd, being back in Inaba. He had spent so much time dreading leaving in March, but now it was a strange combination of feeling like home and like something he had moved on from.

He looked up at the sound of crunching footsteps. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Yosuke standing there, and Yosuke didn't look surprised to find him there. "I kinda figured you would come here after all that stuff in Tokyo," he said quietly.

"Nanako stole my uncle's phone to text me that she was freaking out. I took the next train out here once I'd gotten that text."

"Yeah." The orange headphones settled around Yosuke's neck as he sat down next to Yu. "So...uh..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "How long are you here for?"

"Probably only a couple of days. We didn't pack much."

"'We'?"

"Yusuke came with me."

"Oh." Yosuke dug at the snow with his foot. "I wondered why Izanami targeted him and nobody else outside of our group. I really thought you and Risette, man..."

"I thought all of you were dead. And Rise and I were never together."

"Weren't together  _ yet, _ you mean. You both had it bad for each other."

Yu let out a puff of breath, watching the steam drift lazily away in the cold air. "That's -- it was complicated."

"By what?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "She's gorgeous and was clearly into you, and you spent so much time together -- "

"I spent a lot of time with you, too, Yosuke." The retort left his mouth before he had fully thought through the implications.

"What're you trying to say?"

"That -- that -- " well, this wasn't how he had envisioned his day going -- "things weren't as cut and dried as you're making it sound."

"What do you -- wait." Yosuke put his face in his hands.  _ "Wait. _ You're not into girls."

"Never said that."

"But -- you're dating a guy."

"I'm dating someone that's very special to me, and that I'm attracted to. That person happens to be a guy."

Yosuke looked like his brain was melting. "You..." Surprise, fear, and sadness chased themselves across his face in a matter of moments, settling into a sort of rueful clarity. "You couldn't decide between Rise and... _ me." _

There was no point denying it now. "I told you it was complicated."

Yosuke looked away. "You weren't going to say anything to either of us, were you?"

"Could you blame me? Rise was going back into show business. That was more than just a dream to her, it was who she was. I didn't want to hold her back from that, but I couldn't imagine dealing with all the time we'd be apart. You...made your straightness extraordinarily apparent. I wasn't ever planning to say anything to you."

Yosuke let out a huff of sad laughter. "That's...that's fair." He shrugged a little. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks."

They both stared out across the water. Yu fiddled with the hem of his coat just to have something to do with his hands. Distant sounds of children playing near the pavilion reached them.

"I don't -- "

"So what -- "

They both started to speak simultaneously, then stopped. Yu gestured. "You first."

"All right, fine." Yosuke’s fingers fumbled with his headphone cord, gloveless even in the cold. "So what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, I just -- I guess I'm trying to -- look, there were nine months that you got to live and I didn't, and there's just -- I wake up and you've got this whole other life, and friends, and apparently a boyfriend now, and I -- I'm just trying to figure out where I -- where we fit into your new life. And -- " he bit his lip -- "I guess...sorry for calling you 'partner'. That must've been like rubbing salt into a wound."

"It didn't bother me," Yu said truthfully. He had always known it meant something different to Yosuke than he would have liked, but accepted it as the friendly term it was intended to be. "The last few months...it was rough. Being in an unfamiliar place, having just watched all my friends die, knowing that I was the one who had failed all of you."

"I don't think going up against a psychotic goddess on a power trip is a fair way to measure failure."

"Mm." Yu shrugged noncommittally before returning his gaze to the river. "I honestly don't remember much of the first month I was there. There was a cafe across the street that I kept going to, and that's where I met Yusuke."

He continued summarizing the last few months, occasionally looking up to see Yosuke looking abnormally pensive, until he got to Christmas Eve. "And that's when I found all of you."

They were silent for a minute, and then Yosuke laughed, clearly trying to break the tension. "I wonder if the stuff I was supposed to learn in senior year of high school is in my brain somewhere. Not having to go to half the year of school would  _ almost _ be worth it."

"Entrance exams are soon," Yu groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, come on. Have you ever not aced a test? You'll be fine." Yosuke lightly punched him in the arm before suddenly turning serious again. "You're planning on going to college in Tokyo, aren't you?"

"Yeah. If I want to get into a good psychology program...that's where I need to be."

"Psychology, huh? Guess that's not all that surprising. You  _ did _ help all of us figure our mess out."

"If I can keep helping people...that's what I want to do."

"Think you'll still come out here to visit?"

"Is that even a question?" Yu nodded vigorously. "Just because I have other friends doesn't mean I'm going to abandon you all. We went through hell together. And for as much as you think I helped you...you saved me, too. I wasn't expecting to make actual, meaningful friends here until I pulled you out of that trash can."

"Dude, why do all your heartwarming anecdotes about me have to start with that trash can?"

Yu laughed, and though Yosuke tried to continue to look angry, he soon started laughing along. "It's a memorable start to a friendship."

"Sure, sure. Between you with the trash can, and Chie with me almost pissing my pants the first time we went into the TV world, my reputation is forever ruined."

"I'll try to wait for at least five minutes after meeting any future girlfriends of yours to bring it up."

"Oh, geez."

Yosuke punched him in the arm again and Yu cuffed him in the back of the head before the smile slipped off his face. "So...are we still okay? I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything."

"By telling me you had a crush on me? To be honest...I sort of figured that out. I just kind of...hoped you'd end up being happy with Rise or something, because I -- I knew I couldn't be the type of partner you wanted." Yosuke looked downcast, rubbing the back of his head. "I tried thinking about it some once we'd caught Adachi, because I thought maybe -- maybe I could've -- I  _ wanted _ to be able to feel the same way about you that you did about me, and I just...I didn't."

Even though he'd been over the feelings he had once had for Yosuke for months, hearing the after-the-fact rejection still stung a bit. "That's okay," he said automatically. "You can't help being straight any more than I can help being attracted to anyone and everyone with a good heart."

"And you're -- you're happy with Yusuke, now, right?" Yosuke fidgeted. "I saw how you two looked at each other in the Velvet Room, and if he came all the way out here with you..."

Yu felt a smile soften his face. "Yeah."

"Then I guess it all worked out in the end, huh?"

Yosuke's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to quickly read the message before pocketing it. "Teddie's whining about how lonely he is, and my hands are freezing. I'm gonna head home. But we should all get together before you go back to Tokyo, okay? Chie will kill me if I got to see you and she didn't."

"Yeah, I'll ask Dojima if everyone can come over before we leave. See you later, Yosuke."

"See ya."

Yu shivered as Yosuke disappeared back towards his house, suddenly realizing how cold he was. Hugging his arms to his chest, he headed back towards the Dojimas' house.

"I'm back," he called as he slid the door closed behind him.

"Big Bro, look what I drew!"

Nanako held up a piece of paper as he walked into the living room and he looked closely at it, nodding. "That looks really good, Nanako."

"Yusuke-sensei taught me how to shade!"

Yusuke was practically glowing. "The amount of progress she made while you were gone is quite an unexpected but highly pleasant surprise."

"She had a good teacher." Yu squeezed Yusuke's hand as he settled in the warmth of the kotatsu, and Yusuke shivered.

"Your hands are quite cold."

"I've been outside for an hour! Besides, your hands are always freezing. I don't understand how you can even draw with those icicles attached to your hands."

"My hands are not  _ that  _ cold."

Nanako grabbed Yusuke's other hand with both of hers and shrieked, giggling. "Big Bro's right! You  _ are _ like an icicle, Yusuke-sensei!"

Yusuke tried to look offended, but his air of outrage dissolved as both Yu and Nanako laughed. "Yes, I admit I do run rather colder than most others."

That night, Yu crawled into bed first, pulling the blankets up against the winter chill. Even if walking to the Samegawa had felt somewhat foreign, this room was still his. Still  _ safe. _ The collection of figurines he had won from the stupid crane game in Okina City were still perched on the shelves across the room, the pictures of him and his Inaba friends still pinned on the wall behind his desk or in frames on its shelves.  _ I should take some of those pictures back to Tokyo with me. _

Yusuke came in, hair still damp from the shower, carefully closing the door behind him before turning off the light and making his way to the futon by the streetlight's illumination filtering in around the edges of the curtain. "I apologize for my icicles."

"I'll warm you up." With anyone else, that would probably have been suggestive, but Yu meant it literally.

Yusuke chuckled, slipping under the blankets, and Yu drew him close, wrapping his arms around him and breathing in the light scent of his shampoo. "I love you, Yusuke."

"And I, you." Yusuke shifted position until they fit together perfectly, closing his hands over Yu's. Yu could tell something was on his mind, so he waited patiently for the other to speak. "What are your plans, now that everything has returned to normal?"

"Keep studying for my entrance exams. Hopefully get into Todai and study psychology. If all goes well, go into counseling. Maybe even school counseling. I think a lot of high schoolers could benefit from talking to someone competent and trustworthy."

Yusuke gently squeezed his hands. "That is a noble goal."

"And you?"

Yusuke hesitated, breathing in and out deeply. "I confess that my path is less straightforward....I want to reach people through my art. If I can reach even one person and show them some part of a lesson that I have learned, an experience I have had, that would be a success to me. However -- "

"You also need to be able to eat."

"There is that. And my technique still needs refinement. I suppose I will seek a scholarship to an art school."

"What about teaching? You were practically glowing when you were teaching Nanako."

"I had never even considered it before today," Yusuke murmured, sounding as if his thoughts were far away. "When I compared myself to -- well, to who I had believed Madarame to be -- I doubted that I had anything to offer a potential student."

"I think you have a lot to offer, Yusuke."

Another chuckle. "You are biased, but I accept your point. I will think about it some more."

Silence settled dreamily over the two of them, warm and content together in their cocoon of blankets. The future would come soon enough; for now, this was enough.

It was more than enough.


	20. Epilogue

"Hold  _ still, _ Narukami!"

Yukiko's flustered admonishment as she made minute adjustments to his hair and clothes made him smile. "Which one of us is getting married again? I think you're more nervous than I am."

"The nerves will take hold later," Naoto said serenely, from her place seated by the wall.

Chie snorted, adjusting her kimono. "When did  _ you _ have time to get nervous? Didn't you two have a courthouse wedding?"

"Yes. I nearly vomited in front of the judge."

"Dude, that's not the kind of thing you bring up in front of the groom!" Yosuke said indignantly. "Or -- wait, Yu, are you both grooms? Or is one of you the bride?"  


Yu fluttered his eyelashes at Yosuke. "I could be the bride. I looked damn good in that cross-dressing pageant."

Yosuke groaned. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again!" he protested, while the girls laughed.

"Well, in that case..." Rise stood up, plucking an all-too-convenient floral hairpin from somewhere in her ensemble and standing on tiptoe to fasten it in Yu's hair. "Now you can be the bride."

Yukiko opened and closed her mouth several times, then looked somehow both impressed and defeated. "Something  _ was _ missing," she admitted finally.

Rise only giggled in response, turning Yu so he could see his own reflection in the mirror. The hairpin was a simple blue flower made of cloth, but somehow it reminded him irrevocably of Yusuke. "Thank you, Rise."

"Of course, Senpai!"

He laughed. "Rise, we haven't been schoolmates in years. When will you stop calling me 'senpai'?"

"Oh, probably never," she said airily. "I'm too used to it!"

There was a knock on the door and Kanji poked his head in. "'S almost time," he said. "You ready?"

"I think so," Yu said.

"All right, let's get ya into position."

It was not a traditional wedding ceremony, to put it lightly. Yu and Yusuke had spent a considerable amount of time piecing together bits and pieces of what they wanted from various different styles of ceremonies and filling in any gaps with whatever spoke to them. As a result, the venue for the ceremony was an outdoor pavilion with two curtained-off alcoves, one on each side, leading towards a simple stage adorned with flowers, some odd sculptures that Yu was reasonably sure were recycled thieves' tools twisted into new purposes, a few knitted things here and there, and generally at least one thing he could recognize from each member of the Investigation Team and the Phantom Thieves.

Dojima, dressed in a slightly more formal version of his typical gray work outfit, grunted as Yu approached on his designated side of the venue. "You ready?"

"Sure am." Yu's eyes went past his uncle to the cat perched on the stone wall behind him. "Morgana, shouldn't you be on the other side?"

"I'll get there in time," the cat said, and if any cat could roll its eyes, that was what Morgana was doing. "Just wanted to make sure you weren't in need of any of my wisdom before heading over there."

"What wisdom would you like to share with me, Morgana?"

"Still weird to hear him having a whole damn conversation with a cat," Dojima muttered. Morgana ignored him.

"Treat Yusuke well. If you hurt him, we will hunt you down. I don't care if you're a Phantom Thief. Just remember that."

Yu picked Morgana up, ignoring his yowls as he cradled him, scratching that one spot just behind his ear that Morgana couldn't resist until the cat was purring limply in his arms. "Got it. Thanks, Morgana. Probably about time for you to head over there, huh?"

Morgana leapt down as soon as Yu stopped petting him, looking balefully over his shoulder. "On second thought, maybe I'll just murder you tonight."

"Please don't make Yusuke sad on his wedding night."

Only a couple of minutes left. Dojima left to go take his seat, and Yosuke appeared, in a dress shirt and slacks but hair still as carefree as ever. "It's weird seeing you without your headphones," Yu commented.

Yosuke shrugged. "They needed to charge. Downside of using wireless ones."

"One minute," Yukiko's voice echoed through the curtain obscuring them.

Yosuke reached over, clapped Yu on the back. "Last chance for you to run away screaming."

"Not a chance."

Rise scurried in, hair and kimono perfectly done, a basket of flower petals on her arm. She beamed at Yu before turning towards the curtain, waiting for her cue.

The music started. Rise counted out the prescribed eight measures of the song before slipping out of their little alcove, leaving the curtain pushed aside enough that Yu could see out into the little grove. She scattered the petals along her way up to the front, taking care to keep in step with Nanako in the center aisle and Haru on the other side. When they reached the front, Dojima rose to take Nanako's hand and lead her to her seat; Kanji awkwardly offered his arm to Haru; and Rise skillfully arranged herself on Ryuji's arm so their walk to the seats did not end in disaster.

With a grin, Yosuke offered his arm to Yu, as if he were escorting a girl to a dance, and Yu laughed softly in response before placing his hand on the proffered arm. Together, they slowly approached the front, and while he knew Yusuke was on the other side of the room being escorted by Akira he didn't dare look over just yet, and then he was standing in front of Yusuke and it felt like all the oxygen had been whisked out of his lungs. His gaze trailed over the dark blue kimono, the white hairpin that looked suspiciously like a pair with his own, before he locked eyes with Yusuke and tried to remember how to breathe.

Yu floated through the ceremony, Naoto's words as officiant waking him just enough to respond with all the conviction coursing through him, and the promised nerves never came. Ann and Yukiko rose up and held out their rings; Yusuke took his from Ann first, gently slipping the simple silver band onto Yu's finger and squeezing his hand briefly, and for a moment Yu thought he might die from sheer happiness as he retrieved the other ring from Yukiko, taking Yusuke's cold hand in his and sliding the band on.

"I now pronounce you married. You may kiss."

Softly, their lips touched, and then Yusuke wrapped his arms around Yu, burying his face in Yu's shoulder. Yu returned the embrace just as tightly, suddenly feeling tears spill over as a thousand emotions crashed over him -- happiness, love, overwhelming joy.

"Friends, family -- our married couple."

They turned to face the rest of their friends, hand-in-hand, and then it was chaos as everyone descended on them for hugs and well-wishes. Yu didn't bother wiping the tears away as he smiled, because a fresh wave descended whenever he looked at Yusuke, whose eyes were sparkling and cheeks were wet.

This had been a hell of a second chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teeth-rotting fluff uwu <3


End file.
